Don't Look Back
by MisfiredSynapse
Summary: "You're being rude," the Doctor muttered. "Stealing your thunder, am I?" I retorted quickly. Rose giggled and the Doctor sighed, irritated, but I could see his lips twitching despite himself. *Sequel to "Changing Me" - 9th Doctor/OC friendship- romance if you squint. Follows Season One of New Who.
1. Materialise

**Welcome, everybody, to the first chapter of the sequel! Hopefully you're all still with me, and are ready for another adventure with Kia and the Doctor. Check out my profile for links to fan-art and facebook, which contains updates and general extra facts. But for now, do enjoy the adventures of Kiarna Pullman and her Doctor.**

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**Don't Look Back**

-[-]-

**One: Materialise**

Time is fickle. It may seem like a straight line when it's really a giant scribble. It changes perceptions; it flies away when there's fun to be had, yet lingers and crawls when there's nothing to do. There's always more time, but it's never enough.

The streets of London were busy, being a few hours after lunch on a Tuesday as it was. Nonetheless, not a single pair of eyes wandered to a bus stop with a broken backing, behind which a blue box had mysteriously appeared. It hadn't been there on the Monday, and it probably wouldn't be there on the Wednesday. The box appeared and disappeared at random, but always came to that same spot.

Apparently, the chip shop across the street sold the best in the universe.

That is, if you were to ask the two occupants of that box, both of whom stumbled out into the waning daylight, hand in hand, laughing so hard it brought tears to their eyes and made their lungs burn. Coils of smoke drifted out from the box behind them, smelling slightly of burnt rubber, but neither seemed concerned about it. Indeed, they hardly seemed to notice anything outside of one another, and the conversation they were intensely involved with.

"Did you see his face as we left?" the Doctor cried, his voice going up an octave as he attempted to re-enact the scene. In stitches beside him, it was all I could do to stay upright, recalling the Bleecratt Lord and how he had turned all shades of angry green when the Doctor politely informed him that he was not eligible to become a concubine. We'd thought it was me the Lord was after, until he rudely shoved me out the door to discuss... "business" with the Doctor.

If the fact that we were now banned from that planet due to the Doctor's apparent sex appeal wasn't funny enough, watching the Time Lord bulge out his eyes and blow a raspberry certainly was. His ears wriggled. "I was waiting for him to order your head off!" I giggled back, gasping for breath in between words.

He swung our hands between us as we crossed the street, the scent of chips already luring us in, two helpless fish on a line. "Beheading? Oh, no, no! They haven't had a beheading on Bleecratt in centuries. Don't be so barbaric," the Doctor scolded me, mock-serious as he winked when I raised my eyebrow at him. "They boil you and eat you."

"I think he would've eaten you without the boiling, since you're so nummy-nummy." I couldn't believe I'd said it, but someone had to. I'd put up with days of watching the aristocrat fall over himself trying to impress the Doctor, while the man himself remained purposefully oblivious to the intentions, when all we wanted to do was get out.

The Doctor shot me an affronted look, shaking his head at my poor impersonation of a big, purple beach-ball of a Lord simpering over the Doctor's very footsteps. "You are disgusting," he informed me cheerfully, as we took our usual booth by the window. He liked watching the people and I just wanted the food, so I didn't care where we sat.

"Like you're not," I retorted, recalling with a brief look of horror the mess he'd made of the dinner the night before. We'd stayed in the TARDIS, neither of us feeling up to facing Earth, and he insisted on trying to cook me a delicacy from a planet I couldn't even pronounce. What we ended up with was molasses-thick sludge that smelled of dead fish. The Doctor had insisted that it tasted better than it smelled and promptly devoured the lot, as my appetite had ducked for cover and my poor stomach did somersaults of protest.

"That dish was a delicacy from the Ovyorus Cluster in the Endula System. Show a bit of appreciation for fine cuisine, you uncultured ape."

Sniffing in derision, I crossed my arms and sat back in my seat. "I'm back to being an ape, am I?" The Doctor replied with an unworried grin as a plate of chips appeared between us. I greedily wolfed down a handful or two, having avoided the kitchen and food the entire night. "I suppose the fact that I saved your sorry arse on Naroosh _and _Bleecratt is forgotten?" He'd done something to irritate the authorities, they tossed him in the dungeon. I hadn't saved him so much as paid his bail, but it got him released so it counted as saving. Not to mention that while he was in the dungeon for the compulsory twelve-hour internment on Naroosh, I'd found the kidnapped TARDIS and managed to locate the missing Princess. Her disappearance had been enough to almost incite a savage civil war which threatened to destroy the Narooshians, which had been the cause of our landing there in the first place.

Pausing momentarily, the Doctor shrugged. "Considering I saved you on Felspoon, in Ancient Egypt and from being delivered as sacrifice to the tomb of Umiph, on Umiphadz, yes." Ah, yes. Lovely time on Felspoon; trapped in a ski-lift to the top of the swaying mountains, while time froze around me and life-eating monsters tried to devour my soul. Definitely going back. Ancient Egypt was even better, when just breathing in the wrong dust mite could potentially rot your insides in a tenth of a second, fantastic.

Grumbling under my breath, I surrendered with the knowledge that I owed him my life more than he owed me foremost in my mind. He smirked triumphantly, fuelling my seething determination to one day win a game of wits against the mad alien. "So, why 2005?" I asked, having caught the date on the way out of the TARDIS.

"No reason," the Doctor replied evenly, quickly shoving a few chips in his mouth to avoid having to continue. The plate was empty now but for the crispy parts of the chip that were my absolute favourite, and the Doctor knew better than to protest when I dragged the plate nearer and crunched them one by one.

"There's always a reason with you. Nothing's random," I reminded him, shaking my head slightly with a disbelieving smile. Sheepishly, he shrugged and looked out at the people passing us by, before searching the shop and beckoning me in a little closer.

"Alright. My scanner picked up on a transmitting signal, far beyond the capabilities of anything Earth has in this time period. I don't know what, or who, but I intend to have a chat and find out."

"And calmly shunt them off if they're misbehaving?" I assumed, grinning when he nodded. I ignored the eye-roll, as I'm sure he ignored my sarcastic summary of what we really would do.

We fell silent for a moment or two while I finished my food, and, finally sated, we paid- my money, he never had any unless he broke an ATM- and left to walk along the street, never straying too far from the TARDIS. "There's a strong chance that something will happen near this location," he explained, nodding along the street. "That's why I've landed us here; we always land within a day or two of our previous selves taking off." The explanation was unnecessary, but I appreciated it all the same. He seemed to forget that he'd taught me how to input co-ordinates and read the scanner even if it wasn't in a translatable language. No need to worry about that on Earth, though; it was amazing though how strange it felt to be back home for more than just a pit-stop. We had been travelling for just over ten months now, more than half of that off-planet and half a universe away. Coming home to Earth and staying felt odd, but in a good way.

"I noticed," I nodded; it was partly why I questioned him on his choice of year. It was amazing really that nobody around here actually noticed the TARDIS, since we always landed in the same spot. Perception filter or not, the blue box wasn't easy to miss in the middle of a busy street like this. Too many eyes. "How do you know it's here?"

The Doctor paused and leaned against a short wall separating us from the beer garden of a small pub. Cigarette smoke made us both wrinkle our noses but we ignored it; the Doctor for studying the area, me for watching him and waiting for an answer.

"I can detect the relay device from here, but it's a vague detection spanning over the entire city. History says there was an explosion at this point though..."

The thought of the Doctor being in another explosion sent me into a momentary panic, before realising that there was nothing I could do to stop him getting involved. If the TARDIS had landed, then we were stuck in the timeline. "Well," I smiled, pushing off the wall and heading for the nearest shop. We might as well do something if we were just waiting around for something to happen; I wanted to see if I could convince the Doctor to wear something other than leather if only to get my greedy little hands on that jacket. "Who are we to argue with history?"

Grinning, and our hands swinging between us, we headed into the department store and straight up to the roof, despite me wanting to stop and check out some of the stores on the way up. The Doctor simply sighed and tugged me onwards, using the sonic to open the staff-only-roof-access doors and the two of us slipped inside. As the door clicked shut behind us, I leapt up the stairs two steps in front of the Doctor, laughing and racing him to the roof.

It felt good to be carefree, to have a bit of quiet time before the danger began. The air was clear and mild atop London, though the building we were on was nowhere near the tallest around. "You go left, I'll go right," the Doctor instructed, as he began scanning the ground with the sonic. I didn't have one of my own, but I did have a pocket-sized nanomechanical loudspeaker which would spike if I came across the relay device, measuring the faint electric signal.

I wandered around the roof, only half paying attention to the loudspeaker's beeping. I was more concerned with the view, and pensively wondering what I'd originally been doing in 2005. Since I didn't meet the Doctor until 2009, my younger self still had a good four years of blissful ignorance before her world came down around her ears. After that, it was all aliens and running and danger and freeing the exploited, defending the innocent and beating the bad guys. I paused beside an air conditioner vent, leaning against it and watching the sun slowly sink down towards the horizon. Four years ago- which was really a few days ahead by the local time- I'd turned nineteen and applied to major in history, figuring it'd be good for something eventually.

It hadn't. Nowhere in my history books was there a mention of ice-men roaming the streets of London on Charles Darwin's twentieth birthday, nor was there a mention of bug-headed aliens swarming through Bristol and making nests out of rubbish dumps. The funniest thing was, though, that if I went to read those same books over again _right now _there'd be a mention of the ice-men, of the bug-headed aliens, and of two people who appeared to stop both. A man in a leather jacket and his pretty companion. My, how my head blew up when I read about myself and the Doctor, both of us credited as heroes though we hadn't meant to be.

"Kia!" the Doctor snapped me out of my reverie and I started, flinching slightly before turning to dawdle over to him. He was halfway across the roof, standing by a small blue box that really had no differences from a simple meter-cover. I knelt beside it and felt the heat radiating outward from nearly a foot away and the Doctor swept off his jacket, sonic'd the cover, and lifted it off. "Oh, this is beautiful," he breathed.

I tended to agree. It was a mess of wires and lights, but everything had a place and everything did a job- not that I had any clue whatsoever about anything, but it _looked _cool. "Wow," was all I could utter, reaching out to touch it but being repelled at the very last second. "What's the plan, then? Blow it up?" I grinned, suddenly knowing just why history mentioned an explosion here. Generally, if history mentioned destruction and chaos, the Doctor would've been swanning about somewhere with me tripping on his heels.

"God, you're violent," he muttered absently, ignoring my tongue-poking in favour of performing an artistry of hokery-pokery on the poor transmitter. "After I reroute the general signal to this one device, yes, we'll blow it up." He barely looked at what he was doing, showing off as he switched a few wires and flicked a switch or two. My loudspeaker went utterly berserk in my hand and I dropped it, the force of its' vibrations nearly ripping my arm off. After a momentary wrestle which saw me come off triumphant, I was aware of the bemused look the Doctor was bestowing upon me.

"Like that's the weirdest thing you've seen me do," I grumbled, shoving the loudspeaker into my bigger-on-the-inside pockets. Frequent flyer's privilege, alongside the superphone and the TARDIS key, which I kept on the same chain as Mum's old fob watch. Shaking my fluffier-than-usual hair away from my eyes, I concentrated on the relay device as the Doctor worked; I had no clue what he was doing, but I figured watching him might actually make me smarter.

Apparently, the confusion I felt must've shown on my face because the Doctor cleared his throat, snapping me into proper focus, and pointed at where a little green light blinked lazily above an engraved label reading 'maximum output'. "This should narrow it down to here and the origin," he explained. "By drawing in all the signals from any other relays- this one's the master, by the way- it should, in theory, give us a lead on where the transmissions are from."

"And we can't just check the scanner now?" I asked, already knowing the answer before the Doctor shook his head grimly, shrugging.

He stood up and offered me his hand, which I took without hesitation. "We'll have to wait."

"Oh, my favourite part of the day." The Doctor helped me up and we headed back for the stairs and down into the store, creeping out of the employee's only section with just a little sheepish look at the nearest actual employee, a blonde girl around my age- maybe a bit younger. She just smiled at us weakly and watched us go, the Doctor and his companion.

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**Guys, follow me on Twitter. It's probably where you'll get the most updates about me/what I'm doing. The easiest way to contact me. My handle is Nandos_27**

**Remember to check my profile for the first installment of this series "Changing Me"; it's not a requirement, but there might be some things you won't understand otherwise. And there's the Christmas Special, also linked via my profile page.**

**Hope you're still with me and as excited as I am for _Don't Look Back!_**

**- MS xx**


	2. The Game Begins

**Okay, so aside from the first chapter and maybe one or two fillers later, all the chapters to this story will be long. Like, seven thousand words. Pretty good huh? This is because I don't want to make **_**Don't Look Back**_** into a million chapters and I'd like to cover more than one episode of Season One. But, without further ado, here's Chapter Two!**

**Heh. See what I did there?**

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**Two: The Game Begins**

The Doctor sighed.

I hushed him, turning around before the mirror to try and see my reflection from the back. The black school-girl-style skirt I was slowly falling for, however impractical it might've been for my lifestyle, outlined my backside quite nicely. I couldn't imagine wearing runners with the dressy skirt, and there was no way I'd be wearing heels at all. Ever. Never ever. Making a face, because I really did like that skirt, I stepped inside the change room and quickly swapped the skirt for charcoal-coloured corduroy pants and presented myself with a slightly catwalk flourish to my stride.

"What do you think?" I asked.

The Doctor sighed. "Lovely," he said, distracted by nothing in particular, a sign of true boredom. He'd said the same thing about the last three outfits too, and frankly even I was becoming bored with his lack of helpfulness. I stuck out my tongue and returned to the change room to grab my original outfit, settling on buying just the corduroys and a TARDIS blue bow tie. I'd recently come to the decision that bow ties- the whole nerd-chic look- were sexy, and to be blunt I needed all the help I could get. "All that time for just two things?" the Doctor muttered, clearly not intending for me to hear. I grinned to myself, a few steps ahead of him so he couldn't see.

"Yes," I called over my shoulder, "And now it's your turn." I heard the horrified gasp and paused to gauge his reaction, in order to properly scale my hysterical laughter. I could just imagine his horrified look at the thought of giving up his precious leather jacket- to be honest, if he ever did, I'd pinch it in a heartbeat- and was not disappointed by the results.

"You demon," he muttered, shaking his head and pulling a mortified face. "Anyway, you can't. I've got to get back to the TARDIS and figure out how to disable that relay device before something terrible happens."

"A likely excuse," I scoffed, waving him off with the bowtie as I headed for the cashiers. With a grin and a wink, the Doctor fled and I wandered aimlessly, checking out the shoes and the electronics before the closing call sounded and I made a hasty retreat to pay and hurry home. As I rushed towards the department store doors, I could swear I saw someone move out the corner of my eye, but when I turned to check I could only see a lifeless mannequin, hand raised as if waving hello. Funny, because the last time I saw that mannequin it had both hands by its side... Awkwardly, I inched past the thing, not quite sure why it gave me such creeps to do so, and all but ran to the TARDIS.

As I pushed open the door, a little thrill ran down my spine. It was a sort of silent promise of things to come and a welcome home all at the same time, like that feeling you get from setting eyes on your bed after an extremely long, long day. The Doctor was in the jump-seat, working on something, and I hurried to drop my bag on my bed before rejoining him and watching the final touches being added to... "What've we got, Doc?"

"Don't call me Doc," he mumbled, distracted, before leaping up and tossing me a small, red-and-orange square. I caught it and he held a second one in his hand, his alight and flashing. "I've figured out who's most likely behind the signal," he explained, typing frantically into the scanner as I put the square in my pocket and joined him, watching the information scroll across the screen. A phrase stuck out at me and I frowned slightly, pointing at it.

"Animated plastic objects," I read, my frown deepening. "Like, mannequins?"

The Doctor gave me a sharp look and nodded, both of us looking at the door at the same time. "I've got to destroy that relay device. With all the signals concentrated here, it's likely they'll attack."

"What are we waiting for?" I asked, bounding to the door with the Doctor a step behind. On the street, the lead switched to him and I followed at a brisk walk, easily keeping up with his long-legged stride through months of perfecting my speed walk. We ignored the front doors, dark and silent, in favour of the back ones and with the help of the sonic screwdriver, easily got into the first floor. Chills crawled down my spine and I stuck close to the Doctor, jumping at shadows and flinching at the slightest strange noise, even if it turned out to be nothing at all. There was nothing scarier than a department store at night.

The Doctor looked to the lifts, which were moving upwards, and nodded for the two of us to head for the stairs.

"We'll check the floors as we go, just in case," he murmured to me, and I nodded, easily falling into step behind him all the way to the basement. My pace was swift and my footing sure- a far cry from the stumbling, clumsy person I'd been when we'd first met. Briefly, I recalled how much I used to hate the running, and now my day was almost incomplete without it.

The Doctor entered the basement first, me two steps behind, and straightaway we knew something was off. The mannequins, while not moving, were upright and definitely looking ready to move. Across the room was a little office with a light coming through the open door; that became our first destination and I couldn't help but give a little scream at the sight awaiting us. A man, balding and in his fifties maybe, lie sprawled over his desk with a plume of smoke rising from the back of his head. The smell of rotting flesh hung heavy in the air and I had to turn away as the Doctor checked fruitlessly for a heartbeat. "I'm sorry," I heard him say, before he gently moved me out the way and locked the door behind us. No matter how long or how used to this life I may have been, I'd never, ever get used to death.

The Doctor took my hand and we headed for the stairs again, only to quickly dive out of sight behind some boxes as the lift arrived and the doors slid open. I took a breath to say something, to warn whoever it was to get away fast, but the Doctor clamped a hand over my mouth and we stayed silent, watching as a blonde girl inched her way into the basement. I could see through the slats in the crates used as our shelter, and the Doctor released me to crawl forward and watch her properly.

"Wilson?" she called, heading for the office. Her footing was shaky and she seemed jumpy, understandable really. The basement gave _me _the creeps, and I had company. I hated to think what I'd feel alone in this place, damp and cold and underground. "Wilson, I've got the lottery money..." the girl knocked on the office door- thankfully, the windows were dark so she couldn't see, and clearly that god-awful smell hadn't escaped. That poor man, Wilson. I hoped he didn't have any family.

The Doctor reached back and beckoned me forward, pointing at the door. When I met his gaze, he mouthed _let's go _and I nodded in understanding. The girl, upon realising nobody was here, would leave. Meanwhile, we had bigger fish to fry. Barely had we started crawling than did something fall from the back of the room; the Doctor froze, spinning around to lean against the wall as I crouched next to him, eyes wide and breathing turning slightly ragged. "Why must there always be hide-and-seek?" I mumbled, hating this part more than I hated facing something bloodthirsty and scary. At least if you could _see _it, there was a better chance of avoiding it.

The Doctor's smile was tight and not amused, but then again I hadn't been aiming to amuse him. The sound of my own voice comforted me slightly, even as something shifted to my left and I blinked as I watched a mannequin rise to its' feet and begin to shuffle slowly towards the blonde girl. One by one, the rest of the plastic army rose up and moved, and the Doctor grabbed my hand. "Now the fun starts," he grinned, not bothering to keep his voice low. None of the mannequins noticed us anyway, as we hurried in a crouch for the door and stopped just outside, in the hallway between basement and elevator. "Hold the doors, I'll save the human," he instructed.

"My hero," I grinned, earning a wink in return as we high-fived in a gesture of good luck and parted ways, he to save the blonde and me to save us all. I hammered the 'up' button, cursing the lift to open and _hurry up _about it, because the last thing I wanted to do was see just what a bunch of mannequins could do to me. "Come on, come _on..."_

"Open the doors!" the Doctor shouted, thundering towards me with the blonde on his heels, her hand firmly clutched in his.

"Because that _never _occurred to me!" I responded irritably, stabbing the button one last time and sighing with relief when the doors finally started to open. I jumped inside the moment I could, the Doctor and the blonde leaping in a second after. To say that I nearly broke the 'door close' button was an understatement, the poor thing getting a workout as the mannequins came closer and closer. The Doctor grabbed my shoulder and pulled me back as the doors finally started to move and a plastic arm reached in to try and grab whoever it could. Unluckily for the owner of that hand, it happened to be caught by the Doctor, who, with a grunt of effort, wrenched it off and waved it at me with a smile. "Classy," I complimented, and he chucked the hand at me with a naughty grin.

"You ripped his arm off," said a small voice from behind us. Both the Doctor and I turned to see the human girl leaning against the back wall of the lift, faintly green and most definitely terrified.

"Yup," said my alien friend, "Plastic. See?" She didn't look convinced so I tossed the arm at the girl and she caught it despite her obvious fear, something I found commendable straight away. I gave her what I hoped was a comforting smile.

"Who were that lot in there then? Students?" she asked, her voice growing with her confidence. I shrugged, deciding to let the Doctor explain; he still hadn't told me what was going on, though I'd managed to connect the dots enough to know what was controlling the mannequins- thanks to our rerouting the signals, I realised. If we hadn't meddled in order to gain actual, physical traceable evidence for the TARDIS, the mannequins would never have woken. The thought that in some small way, we had been responsible for that man's death hit me hard and for a moment, I blinked frantically to quell the rising panicked tears. The night wasn't over yet.

The Doctor snorted by way of answer, jolting me out of my misery in the process. Though he spoke to the human girl, his gaze was on me, hard and knowing. He could see right through me and even when I smiled, I knew he knew why it didn't reach my eyes. "Why would they be students?" he asked, almost growling.

"... I dunno..."

"Well, you said it. Why students?" the Doctor's eyebrows had disappeared and the girl looked like she was about to faint as she gave me a pleading look and quaked under his intense glare. Not really a glare, but his demanding-an-answer face I'd come to know so well. In the beginning, it had scared the pants off me.

"Don't be mean," I chastised gently, smiling to take what little sting out of it there was. "They're not students, honey. Sorry."

She nodded, digesting the information, before shaking her head in disbelief. "Whoever they are, when Wilson finds them, he's gonna call the police."

I flinched and the Doctor cringed a little, both of us sharing an awkward look. "Wilson's dead," the Doctor muttered; I winced at the callous tone and the blonde girl went pale and her lips trembled. She was handling it all very well, I assumed, for a girl who had just met with living plastic.

"Sorry," I mumbled, placing a hand on her shoulder. She shook me off almost immediately and I bit my lip, knowing just how hollow the word must have sounded coming from me. It had almost lost all effectiveness from how often I had to use it. Still, though, it was better than saying nothing. The ping of the elevator stopping on the first floor made me jump and hurry out into open air, warily examining the room for living plastic and finding it blessedly empty. The Doctor was beside me with the sonic, and the blonde girl kept hold of the plastic arm as she too shuffled out to follow us.

"That's not funny," she said, glaring slightly. "That's sick." She didn't seem so much nervous as bewildered and angry now, a brave streak showing through though she was still completely in the dark.

"But true," I assured her gently, smiling sympathetically. The Doctor turned back to disable the elevator and returned a second later, brushing sparks off his sleeve as he nodded to me and we started walking, the blonde staying put until she realised that we really weren't going to stick around and chat.

"Okay, that's enough. Who were that lot down there?" she shouted. Neither the Doctor nor I responded, me because I didn't know how, the Doctor because he was smiling to himself and- when I glanced up at him, he had that same curious expression he had whenever he left me to figure something out on my own. He was testing the girl, just to see what she'd do. "Oi! I said, _who were they? _And who are you while we're at it?"

I tried to spin around and answer, but the Doctor caught my hand. "No," he whispered, keeping me facing forward. While I didn't quite understand why, I obeyed anyway and left my hand in his until we reached the staff entry doors, the same way we'd got in before. Stepping out into the open air, I felt the blonde beside me and turned around to lean against the doorframe beside the Doctor.

"I want an answer," the girl demanded, eyes narrowed and arms folded. She looked a little amusing actually, with the plastic arm sticking straight out of her two folded ones.

The Doctor gave me a long look and rolled his eyes very obviously. "Hate starting over," he muttered, before looking up at her and giving her the famous I-Think-You're-Thick smile. "They're plastic, living plastic, creatures made of plastic-"

"So, they're plastic then?" I murmured, earning a quick glare.

"Helpful," he grinned sarcastically, "They're being controlled by a relay device on the roof, which would be a great big problem if I didn't have this." He fished out the blinking-metal-square and shook it for emphasis. "So, we're going to go upstairs and blow them up- that's us, not you, by the way. You get to run along, go home and have your lovely beans on toast... don't worry about us," he pulled me inside and smiled at the girl, who looked faintly green by now, and looked very close to fainting dead away. "And don't tell anyone about this or you'll get them killed," the Doctor warned before slamming the door and turning to me.

"Well, that was rude, don't you think?" I asked innocently, arms folded across my chest. He gave me a slight glare and began to pout just a little, though he'd deny it if ever someone asked.

"At a time like this you're worried about my manners?" he shook his head but flung the door open again nonetheless, leaning out to stare down at the blonde girl, who had barely moved. "I'm the Doctor by the way, and this is Kia. Who're you?"

She blinked, shocked at the abrupt change of topic and more than likely just a little overwhelmed by absolutely everything. She had that stunned sort of look that I assumed had been my mask for the first month or so of being the Doctor's companion. "Rose," she answered quickly, sensing the urgency in the air.

"Nice to meet you, Rose," the Doctor grinned.

"Lovely!" I managed to call at the same time, leaning around his shoulder to smile and wave at her.

"Now, run for your life!" With that, he slammed the door shut and turned to me, handing me the activated bomb and tugging the other out of my pocket. "Right, I'm going to set this one near the basement, I need you to fetch the TARDIS, set yours against the relay device and wait for me _in the TARDIS_ on the roof."

I nodded and started to move, before stopping and running back. "The TARDIS is across the road," I pointed out, and he rolled his eyes, already moving towards the stairs. He tossed the sonic screwdriver across the widening distance to me.

"She's already programmed, just set the sonic to eighty-nine alpha and point at the console! You've got about two minutes left so I suggest-"

"Run?" I asked at the same time as he shouted it, giving me one last grin as he disappeared into the stairwell. I turned for the door and leapt out into the air, slamming it behind me and sprinting to the TARDIS. I caught sight of poor old Rose hurrying down the path and bit my lip at the sight of her, hoping she'd get home and not fret too much about what had happened. As soon as the police box came into view, I pushed Rose far away from my thoughts and flew through the door, mentally apologising when they slammed behind me. "Okay, old girl, let's go!" I spun the sonic's settings, pressed the button, and held on as the TARDIS shook and rumbled through time and space before a hollow thud of settling metal announced my arrival.

I had been moving for the doors before it sounded and all but fell out of them onto the roof, hurrying to the relay device and sliding the activated bomb beneath the cover. It was ticking now, an obnoxious sort of countdown to D-Day, and I looked around for the Doctor. The roof was empty, predictably, and I sprinted to the access door and flung it open just as a big-eared man in a leather jacket slammed open the staff-entry door below. He looked up, met my eyes, flew up the stairs and grabbed my hand on his way past, the two of us sprinting into the TARDIS.

My arm lifted and the sonic whirred as we sailed through the doors, the sound of the universe alerting the world to our departure just seconds before a fiery inferno engulfed the building.

Three minutes later, we stood side-by-side watching fire and news crews pulling up to the burning store. The Doctor crossed his arms and his ankles, leaning against the TARDIS, and I hugged myself against the chilling wind that brought the smell of burning our way. None of the people milling about had noticed us, which had been our plan all along. Just to observe and make sure none of the mannequins would escape and try to kill. We hadn't spoken since going our separate ways in Henriks; me to get the TARDIS, him to blow up the basement.

"Thought I said wait _in _the TARDIS?" the Doctor asked quietly, a note of warning in his tone telling me that he wasn't exactly happy with my disobeying and trying to find him. I shrugged, the beginnings of a smile tugging my lips.

"I heard _near _the TARDIS."

He gave me a long look and sighed exasperatedly, pushing the doors open and nodding for me to precede him inside. More sirens blared into the night sky outside, joining the shouting journalists and their yawning crews regretting their career choice as they stood, freezing, watching a building burn. The doors clicked shut behind us and the noise faded instantly, like pressing 'mute' on a universal remote. It was eerie really, though I'd gotten quite used to the feeling of isolation. At first, the Doctor and I existed within moments of breathless mirth and awkward silences, but now we had seen so much together that we were entirely comfortable. Now, the silence wasn't unpleasant, which was a bonus, but it was still something I sometimes struggled with.

The Doctor stood by the console as I settled in the jump seat, too short to prop my feet up and settling for swinging them restlessly. "I definitely said _in," _he informed me, his tone softening as I smiled at him and shook my head, defiant to the last.

"Did not," I retorted childishly, complete with poking out my tongue and blowing a raspberry in his direction. Affronted, he joined me on the jump seat and effortlessly propped his long legs against the console, jostling me in the process.

"Did too."

"Did not."

He grinned, eyes glinting at me. "Did too!"

"Did not!" I leapt to my feet, stifling a giggle which died in my throat as a sudden realisation crept into my mind, sluggish and reluctant as if it were aware of how disappointed I'd be at losing the playful mood. "Hang on, did we just blow up Henriks?" I asked tentatively. The Doctor looked at me, blinked, and slowly the grin faded as he nodded.

"Yeah, certainly did," he confirmed, still with a little cheeky glint in his eyes. It was enough to tell me that he hadn't connected the dots- or, more likely, was waiting for me to connect the dots in the latest of a long line of companion-competency test questions. It was like living a permanent game of Weakest Link, though I wouldn't get booted out on my backside for failing a question. I hope.

"And all the plastic too?" I said, nodding as he grinned and clapped his hands, the closest to applause I'd ever get for a correct answer. Rolling my eyes, I clicked my tongue and turned to the scanner, watching the signal from Henriks fade and die away completely, leaving just two- one moving steadily, the other hopping all around London like a kid on a space hopper.

"No leads then," the Doctor surmised, looking over my shoulder at the same results.

"Apparently not," I huffed back, quite disappointed in my lack of hindsight that now left us with nothing to trace the original signal with. With the erratic way it appeared all over the city, we would spend days tracing each one until we hit the jackpot. Days we might not have, if the Nestene Consciousness decided to up the invasion levels now that it knew one of its relay devices were gone. If it figured out that we were on its trail, it could either scarper or kill millions- either way, not the result we were after.

"Hang on," the Doctor announced after a long pause, the spark and grin returning, "Rose! The girl in the basement!" he cried, already off running around the console and starting the take-off sequence. I recognised about one in fifty buttons he pressed- dematerialiser, dimension shifter, stabilisation matrix, oxygen filters, vortex manipulator, location transference- and gave up trying to guess what the rest did.

"I'm pretty sure she was human," I pointed out, earning me a look that made me feel a bit thick. My hands went to my hips in a gesture of annoyance and the Doctor returned to my side, dancing me out the way so he could continue navigating us away.

"Of course she is," he replied with a little scoff, "She's completely human- _but she has an arm!"_

It clicked into place then, and I grinned widely as I grabbed the nearest handhold to avoid being tossed about like a ragdoll. "Well, universe saved!" I cackled, eyes gleaming, "Rose has all her bodily limbs!"

It took him a total of three seconds to realise that I wasn't, in fact, serious, and was taking the absolute piss out of him. The frown morphed into a brilliant grin; "A _plastic _arm, Kiarna," he told me seriously, as if I were genuinely thick and not just pretending to be.

"And a wooden leg too?" I asked innocently as he ducked around the console for his fifth lap. I considered joining him, but the moment I let go of the banister the TARDIS gave a particularly violent shudder and I wound up on my knees, clutching the grated floor to keep myself grounded. Honestly, I had more bruises from travelling than I did from running away and fighting the bad guys. Along with the Chameleon Circuit, the stabilisation matrix was also in perfectly defunct condition.

"No," the Doctor informed me, somehow still on his feet despite the tossing of his ship. He gave me a puzzled look as I picked myself up and brushed off my knees, shaking his head in long-suffering dismissal. "Her legs are great," he continued, yanking the grounding system into place. Something thudded and I swear I heard breaking glass as the TARDIS came to a complete stop, groaning lightly as she settled.

"Entirely too rough with her," I muttered, quiet enough that he didn't react to the statement of the obvious, "Great legs, huh?" I drawled as he leapt by me to the doors, heedless of the few limping steps I took before my rattled bones decided to start doing their job and allow me to move properly.

He flung the doors open, freezing as he went to take a step through. He whipped around to stare at me, blue eyes wide as a look of confusion stole his features. "Wait, what?" Confusion melted into exasperation- the most common expression when the Doctor dealt with me and my "filthy, immature human mind"- and he shook his head. "No, I didn't- never mind. Let's just find her..."

I stepped out into bright daylight, fishing out my phone to check the time. It automatically updated no matter which time-zone I was in- fantastic little perk, that. It never failed to amuse me when I managed to beat the Doctor in 'guessing' our location to the day. I hadn't told him about using my phone for a week, until he'd seen my reflection on the Planet of Glass- made of glass, no imagination- and figured it out himself. "Yeah," I agreed, not willing to let the topic drop just yet. "Rose, the human with a plastic arm and great legs."

The Doctor's nose crinkled slightly; "Shut up, you," he snickered, pushing me playfully away and yanking me back just as quickly, our hands joining instinctively as we headed towards a set of buildings behind a fence, a dilapidated sign declaring our destination to be _The Powell Estate. _"Have you still got that loudspeaker?" he asked, changing the subject. I ignored the very faint blush on his cheeks and handed the thing over, a little smug in the knowledge that if we found something, it would be _his _arm being wrenched off by the thing.

Predictably, he held it in such a way that any movement would be restricted. I gave him a glare, which he answered with a grin, and dashed off to follow the signal. A second later, I broke into a jog if only to not be completely left behind. One floor up, the pace dropped to a walk as the loudspeaker hovered in front of doors, windows, trying to pinpoint the most likely location of that plastic arm.

Three flats along, the Doctor stopped and the loudspeaker gave two sharp beeps of confirmation, alerting us to the fact that we'd found it. Bemused, I watched the Doctor scan the entire height of the door before kneeling to try the catflap, which he found half nailed shut. "I know it's hideously old-fashioned and disgustingly domestic, but you could try knocking," I suggested with a helpful tone. Without looking up, he tossed the loudspeaker up at me and I caught it easily, as he opened the cat-flap with the sonic and pushed it open to have a look. Dropping it, he beckoned me down as well and lifted it open once more; both of us were surprised to see a blonde, familiar face looking back at us nervously.

Quickly, the Doctor and I stood up and he rested his elbow on my shoulder, presenting a united front as the door swung open and Rose gave us both a critical onceover. "Hiiii!" we chorused, smiling. Privately, I put five quid on her fainting sometime in the next five seconds, but she proved me wrong and her expression became dark and irritated, as I expected it would be from someone in her position.

She blinked, clearly a little shocked that we'd turned up _yet again. _Something one would quickly learn from life with the Doctor- aside from the existence of aliens and amazing travelling- was that wherever the TARDIS landed, trouble usually followed. Or was that the other way round? Did _we _bring trouble, or did trouble bring _us? _

The Doctor twirled the sonic in his hand and I tried to look past Rose into the flat behind her, not quite sure what I was looking for. Clearing his throat lightly, the Doctor tilted his head at the blonde girl. "What are you doing here?" he asked, his tone demanding yet again.

Discreetly, I elbowed him and he flinched away. "Rude," I muttered.

"Irrelevant," he mumbled.

Rose looked between the two of us, shaking her head in disbelief. "I live here," she replied as if it ought to be obvious. The Doctor snickered very, very quietly and started peering beyond her as I studied the floor by our feet, the both of us probably looking as though there was something seriously wrong with us.

"Well, what do you do that for?" the Doctor scoffed, only avoiding a burst of laughter because Rose's glare had intensified to a point where even I, a fellow human, didn't feel safe. She switched her steely gaze from him to me and back again, sizing us up, judging the both of us, and something behind her eyes spoke of a determined streak and that we hadn't seen _anything _yet.

"I just do," she snapped in reply, "And I'm only home because _someone _blew up my job-" I scratched my neck and the Doctor looked away innocently- "I don't suppose you want to explain the reason for that again?"

"Actually, it's probably best you don't know," I replied, the only type of explanation I was planning on giving out. The Doctor frowned at her and tugged out the sonic again, whirring it lightly along Rose's body, from her toes to her bemused eyes.

He muttered to me as he did so, loudly enough though that Rose could have heard without much of an effort at all; "Must have the wrong signal."

"We traced her, not the arm?"

"Possibly," he nodded, pleased at my assumption, and gave Rose a critical once-over. "You're not plastic, are you?" he tapped her head, she recoiled in shock, and he shrugged as we began to back away. There had to be another way to find the Nestene, one that didn't mean involving someone else in the danger. "Nope, bonehead. Bye then!" he nudged me away and I began to turn, only to be yanked back as Rose grabbed the Doctor's coat roughly, and he grabbed my hand with a look that clearly said _if I have to, so do you. _"Mind the coat!" he yelped, the door slamming behind our now captive selves.

"I'll try," Rose muttered dryly, leading the way into the living room. The place was homely, slightly messy, but nothing that didn't make me suddenly miss the domestics of my old Cardiff flat. For a single unbearable moment, I missed my tiny, messy, everything-has-its-place-in-chaos home more than ever; but the moment swept by almost instantly, as I couldn't imagine returning to that normalcy after everything I'd seen and done. "Don't mind the mess," Rose apologised, mostly to me, as she cleared some letters and magazines off the sofa and nodded for the two of us to sit. I did so, relieved to be off my feet in the first time in... a while. "Do you want a coffee?"

I admired her then, little human Rose. How out of her depth she was, and she'd just invited us into her home, shoved us into a seat and offered us coffee. That was true bravery, more than anything I'd put forward in my entire life. Anybody could stare death in the face and refuse to go quietly, but to take that kind of danger into her own home required a different kind of pluck. One I feared I didn't quite possess… though, to think of it, I had done just that after the Cybermen tried taking Cardiff. "Might as well, thanks," I replied with a smile, craving tea all of a sudden. "White tea, no sugar."

"Just milk," the Doctor called absently, examining pictures on the mantle, too energized to sit still. To be honest, my nerves were on fire too, but I had developed a unique sense of 'can sleep anywhere' since meeting the Time Lord. Almost a necessity when your life consisted of running, running, and running. Rose nodded and headed off to the kitchen- the layout of her flat was remarkably similar to mine. Not such a shock, both were council estates, though mine was sold off to the public ten years or so before Mum and I moved in.

He pottered around the room, picking up random personal objects and putting them back down again. He lingered over a picture of Rose with a dark-skinned boy, the both of them smiling and happy. He blinked and headed for a mirror, staring at himself with narrowed eyes. "I'll never get used to those ears_... blimey..."_

"They're not that bad," I reassured him, trying not to giggle at the horrified expression on his face. "It's the nose that gets me." His hurt expression changed to a sulky pout when a sharp look at me set me off into those suppressed giggles, covering my mouth in a futile attempt to hide it. Throwing himself down and nearly pushing me off in revenge, he idly picked up a magazine and his eyebrows raised at the front cover. I leaned forward, keen to see the gossip of 2005 again, and snickered at the pair of celebrities rumoured to have hooked up. "That doesn't last. He comes out as gay in 2008."

The Doctor scoffed, tossing the magazine back onto the coffee table. The letter was next, with the addressee undergoing scrutiny for the briefest of seconds before he stood; "Yeah, and she's an alien." I gasped at him as he stood again, fixed on a deck of cards on the mantle.

"No, you're joshing me!" He raised his eyebrows at me seriously and I couldn't help but laugh in disbelief, shaking my head. "That actually explains... so much."

"Do you have a cat?" he called out to Rose, still in the kitchen. I heard the kettle boil as she began to get the mugs ready, her head poking back in with a puzzled expression.

"No," she replied, popping back out of sight. "We did have, ages ago. Now we just get strays off the estate." I nodded though she couldn't see, watching the Doctor weigh up the cards. He flipped the cards from one hand to the other gracefully, a magician's trick I had always admired. At my grin and quiet applause, he bowed and tried again, only to send the entire deck scattering to the ground. With a sigh, he knelt to pick them up as I remained exactly where I was.

"You could always help," he grumbled.

"There's one under the sofa," I offered instantly, vaguely pointing him in the right direction. With a dirty, half-amused glare, he crawled over and disappeared for two seconds as Rose called out to us from the kitchen- I had the feeling she'd been chattering before, but I hadn't heard and the Doctor would have ignored her.

"Could one of you give me a hand, yeah?" I stood up immediately to go, finding my tea and the Doctor's white coffee- he hated coffee, really, would never drink it when I offered him some- as Rose held her mug and followed me back into the lounge room. The moment I walked through the arch, I faltered, and Rose scoffed very obviously. "I thought I told Mickey to get rid of that," she muttered to herself. "You men are all the same. Give 'em a plastic hand..." she looked at me as if she required agreement, but I just dropped the two mugs on the coffee table unceremoniously, uncaring if they spilled, and rushed to try and pry the plastic hand off the Doctor's throat.

My added strength must have done some good as the hand flew off his neck, sailed across the room, and landed squarely on Rose's face. She gave a muffled cry and dropped her tea, her hands flying to try and help herself. The Doctor hurried to her side and gripped the severed wrist, me holding Rose still while he found the right setting on the sonic. "Stay still, honey, it's okay," I murmured, though I don't think she heard me as she tried to throw _me _off as well as the hand.

The suddenness of her movement sent me stumbling away and the Doctor tripping backwards, heading straight for the coffee table. I cried out and leapt forward to try and avert the catastrophe about to happen, the Doctor severed the control signal, Rose tripped over her own feet and the three of us went crashing to the ground. He landed on the coffee table, smashing it, she landed on the ground near the sofa and I tripped over Rose's flung out legs and landed awkwardly atop the Doctor with a muffled curse.

Almost as quickly as I ended up unsettled, I bounced back to my feet and sat on my heels on a clear patch of carpet, as Rose sat up, pale, and stared at the Doctor. He held up the hand, waving it at me to incite a smile, and turned to the shaken blonde. "It's alright, I killed it, see?" he asked, chucking it in her direction. She caught it warily, as if it would attack again at any second. "Armless."

"Oh, pathetic," I scoffed, unable to stop the relieved smile regardless of how doleful the pun really was. Rose seemed to agree as she shot him a glare.

"You think?" she snapped, slapping his shoulder with the severed limb. The Doctor flinched and mouthed _'ow' _at me, which only made me grin wider and wink at Rose, before standing up and heading for the door. I took the arm from Rose- just in case she tried hitting _me _with it- and skipped to follow, limping slightly as a section of my thigh throbbed and told me that I'd be developing a bruise sometime soon.

"See you, then!" the Doctor called chirpily, looping my arm- my actual, flesh-and-bone-arm- through his as we sauntered out the door, leaving Rose to scramble to her feet to follow us. "Quickly, quickly..." he muttered, rushing the two of us on to the stairs, hopefully losing our pursuer in the process. The last thing we needed was an inexperienced tagalong.

"Oi, wait!"

Unfortunately, that's precisely what we were about to get.

* * *

**Why, hello Rose! You certainly popped up quickly! Now to see just what your presence is going to do to the Doctor/Kia dynamic… **

**Updates will be weekly henceforth and so on (I love that-'henceforth and so on'. Feel like I ought to were a monocle and sip brandy while saying it). Mondays, hopefully, maybe Tuesdays. If there's any real delay I'll try to let you know in advance. For example, the month of April might see delays as I will be in London, and may be busy being a tourist.**

**Next chapter: **_**Twenty Questions, **_**will be published on 14****th**** January.**

**P.S. Send me suggestions of what I should do/see while in the UK!**


	3. Twenty Questions

**Three: Twenty Questions**

"Just keep walking," the Doctor muttered to me, a little on edge, still pulling me along. I hopped a little just to keep on par with his long strides, hearing the frantic footsteps of Rose Tyler behind us. I highly doubted we'd outrun her at this rate, but when I tried to break away and run along myself, he held my arm and winked down at me. In that moment, I knew what he was doing; he _wanted _her to come along. A flash of jealousy seared through me then, wondering why having my company wasn't enough, why he still wanted Rose Tyler to follow the two of us. I couldn't see the appeal in having to start all over again with the _I'm an alien, this is a spaceship, you're not alone in the universe _speech, but it gave his eyes such a wicked glint I couldn't help but play along.

Though in her favour, Rose had been rather good at holding herself together the last few hours. That didn't make me like her inclusion any more than I strictly had to. We could handle this on our own, the Doctor and I.

"You can't just go swanning off!" she shouted, and the Doctor chuckled as he released me to spin around, walking backwards in a too-easy way I still envied. My dexterity and fitness levels may have risen from zero to maybe three, but walking backwards was still a massive ask for me, and thus a point where I envied his inhuman grace.

"Yes, we can," he called back cheerily, "here we are, swanning off!" He swung our arms between us, nearly wrenching my shoulder out of place with his enthusiasm. Laughing it off as part of the numerous silly games we played, I dropped his hand and skipped a little ahead, almost daring him to catch me. He always would, of course, but that never stopped me acting like a child and initiating a goold old game of chase.

"But…" Rose, to her credit, was still keeping up with us. At this rate, she'd follow us all the way to the TARDIS- maybe he meant her to see. For a moment, that jealousy rose inside me again… before I realised that having someone else on board would be fun. He'd had companions before, he'd have companions again, my presence didn't change that fact one bit. Besides, I liked Rose's courage. "That arm- it was moving! It tried to _kill _me!" she called, the emphasis having little to no effect.

"Ten out of ten for observation," the Doctor replied with a dry snort, giving me a wink and pausing just long enough to get Rose's hopes up. That confirmed it for me- he wanted her to see us leave. He wanted her to be just curious enough… though I doubt he would ever, in a million years, admit what he was doing. "Clever one, isn't she?" he asked me, one eyebrow raised.

My heart skipped a little, a pleased sense of warmth and friendship spreading from my chest to my fingertips. The Doctor might have been egging Rose on, but that little statement there was him asking if I was alright with it. Both of us, if we wanted to, could disappear with the human girl none the wiser. If I wanted to, we'd leave Rose hanging on nothing and just disappear. The Doctor was asking my acceptance. "She's brilliant," I replied, just loud enough for Rose to catch as she stopped, breathless, at my side. The Doctor grinned and I grinned right back, feeling like an utter idiot for my earlier jealousy.

'Together or not at all'. The phrase entered my mind and stuck, and as the Doctor slung a lazy arm across my shoulders and raised an eyebrow at Rose.

"You can't just walk away," she said instantly, her glare flicking from him to me and back again. "That's not fair. You've got to tell me what's going on."

"It's a long story," I said in answer, mentally trying to sum everything up to fit on one or two sentences instead of a novel. The Doctor watched me struggle for a moment with a bemused expression, rolling his eyes as the arm around my shoulders slipped to grab my hand.

"One we _don't_ have to tell," he said, and jerked me onwards, both of us returning to that half-walk-half-run pace from before. For a moment, Rose was still and silent behind us and I cast a concerned glance back, quietly hoping this wasn't the end of the road for her. Now that I'd had a few minutes to get my head around the idea of a newcomer to the TARDIS crew, I was actually quite excited for it to happen.

"Alright then," Rose called after us, hurrying to catch up as we turned out of the estate and onto a quiet strip of road. "I'll go to the police! I'll tell everyone. You said if I did that, I'd get people killed-" she was actually quite clever, though she was treading on dangerous territory. I could see the Doctor's expression change from teasing to slightly dark before it cleared- "Your choice!" Rose called, "Tell me, or I start talking."

"Was that supposed to sound _tough?"_ The Doctor called, his voice harder than an ordinary tease. I stepped a little closer, tugging on his hand to make him slow down and to remind him; we'd never let someone cause that much damage, not when we could prevent it. Defenders of the Earth, me and him.

"Sort of," Rose replied. I stopped and pulled the Doctor to a stop too. The TARDIS was visible from here, sitting patiently on a street corner. I shot the blue box a small smile, the feeling of familiarity and home making the gesture impossible to suppress. I'd barely lived inside for a year and already I couldn't imagine myself being anywhere else.

The Doctor's voice and the sound of my name brought me back to earth- har-har, pun intended; "Kia and I were there, you blundered in, almost ruined the whole thing-" I rolled my eyes_._

"You didn't," I assured Rose, who gave me a tiny, unsure smile. Probably fully warranted, I'd been pretty silent and slightly cranky with her so far. "Wrong place, right time. Five minutes difference and we would've missed you." I elbowed the Doctor when he made a noise of protest, despite knowing how truthful I was being. If those Autons had woken up earlier, the Doctor and I would have gone straight to the roof and would never have known Rose was there.

"And today?" she asked, looking more to me now as the Doctor pulled a face and sighed impatiently, using the spare arm to scratch his back through the leather jacket. One day, I promised myself, I would steal it from him just to see if he could do without it. He even wore it when we went to the Festival of Fire on Janthore; how he didn't get flushed or overheat _still _baffles me.

"We were tracking it, it was tracking us," I replied nonchalantly, as if this sort of thing happened every day. Hang on, with me, it _did. _"Plastic doesn't like being blown up, apparently."

The Doctor snorted and rolled his eyes at me. "The only reason it fixed on you is 'coz you've met us," he nodded at Rose as if that ought to clear everything up. He'd done the same thing when we first met, those few hours we took shelter from the Cybermen in a child's playhouse. Any question I asked was met with an enigmatic answer; I'd become slightly more adept at reading between the lines, but occasionally still struggled.

"So… what you're saying is… the whole world revolves around you," Rose pointed at me, then at the Doctor, and her eyebrows nearly disappeared into her hair as she struggled not to laugh.

The Doctor grinned brightly, pleased that she'd finally caught on. "Sort of, yeah."

"You're full of it," Rose scoffed.

I couldn't help but burst out laughing, a hand pressed to my stomach as the other ran over my forehead and smoothed away the laugh lines I was paranoid of getting. "Sort of, yeah," I parroted the Doctor, winking at Rose and earning a smile and ignoring the affronted look my travelling companion sent me.

"How dare you agree with such primitive insults?" he asked, utterly aghast, which only made me laugh harder and pet his shoulder comfortingly. Despite his best attempt at staying hurt, he shrugged it off and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like 'silly apes', a comment I had become used to hearing and snickering at.

"So all this plastic stuff," Rose brought us round again. I had the feeling she'd be doing a lot of that, making the two of us focus. He was a scatterbrain and I wasn't much better. "Who else knows about it?"

"Just us," I replied, a finger circling in the air between the three of us. Rose's expression softened a little and she looked to where the Doctor's shoulder brushed against mine, the fact that his arm had sneakily reattached itself to my shoulder, the usual place when we were trying to present a united front.

"You're on your own?" she asked, as I bit my lip and tried not to think too deeply about the fact that aside from a small part of my brain even I couldn't access completely, the Doctor _was _on his own.

"Who else is there?" the Doctor said rhetorically, his tone a little wistful. Subconsciously, my hand rose to press against the watch that still hung around my neck, where it belonged, comforted in the fact that someday I could pass for 'someone else'. Not for the first time, I wanted to open the watch _right now, _despite knowing deep down I was nowhere near ready. I felt like a bloody incubator… "You lot, all you do is eat chips, go to bed, watch telly… while all the time, underneath you, there's a war going on."

My gaze shot to his faraway eyes and my heart broke a little for him. He wasn't talking about the Autons, I knew that well enough. That look in his eyes, like he was here but not seeing _here, _was the same one he wore exactly one month ago, the first time he briefly explained the Time War to me. He still refused to go into detail and I didn't push him; that conversation wasn't one I wanted yet, either, but when he wanted to talk I'd listen.

"Start from the beginning. I mean, if we're going to go with living plastic- and I don't even believe that- but if we do, how did you kill it?"

I pulled a face and the Doctor rolled his eyes, muttering something I didn't catch and wasn't sure I wanted to. He tended to insult species when he was interrogated or interrogating. Or annoyed, come to think of it. Or frustrated. Or tired. Or bored. "The thing controlling it projects life into the arm. I cut off the signal-" he tossed the arm to me and pulled out the sonic, waving it around like a wand or a dangerous weapon and grinning when Rose's eyes kept up all the way, her curiosity driving her to not only stay and talk to us but to actively want to _know _everything. Good girl, I thought to myself.

"So that's radio control," she said, gaze flicking between us to confirm her answer. I was impressed at that, at how quickly she'd jumped into trying to help out.

"Thought control," I corrected gently, my smile just a little smug when she shot me a disbelieving stare, her face a little paler than normal. "Alright?" I added, noticing her sway on the spot a little. It was a lot to take in, I'd grant her that. I wondered how she'd take the idea of the Doctor being an alien… and me being from the near future…

"Yeah," she smiled at me, an action that seemed to fortify her as she shook herself and her eyes focussed back to reality. Her head must've been spinning something wild. "So, who's controlling it then?"

"Long story," the Doctor replied shortly, nodding me towards the TARDIS. "Could you hook that thing up before it melts? I'm not losing them again." I nodded, gave Rose a grin, and jogged off to the TARDIS as they stayed behind. Two seconds after the door closed, I realised I should have brought the sonic with me to help out with using the makeshift signal tracker the Doctor had tinkered with.

"Give me a hand, Mum?" I asked quietly, a hand resting over the watch. I knew it was stupid, I knew it was utterly daft, but without her occasional help I'd never have made it as far as I had. In the beginning, Mum's consciousness had only connected and overpowered mine when I really, really needed her to, but now I could relax my mind enough to _let _her in. I hadn't told the Doctor; he would flip if he knew. To be honest, I think he suspected what I was doing, what I had been doing for months now.

As he'd said so long ago, each time the watch and I connected a part of me died and was reborn. It wasn't healthy for my human body, and it sometimes left me pale and with a headache I could pass off as motion sickness. I'd never had motion sickness in my life. If the Doctor knew I willingly allowed myself to be put in that situation, he'd take the watch and hide it somewhere I'd never find it again. He'd think I was doing it for him, sacrificing my health to hurry the transformation along; but he'd be completely wrong.

With a smile, I closed my eyes and felt a flare of warmth, almost painful, against the back of my head. It was inside my skull, though, the usual flare of information, a bit of assistance Mum's Time Lady sent up when she didn't need complete control. As the instructions appeared in my head, her voice blossomed and read them to me, guided me through hooking the arm to the tracker.

It was the only way I could hear her voice anymore. That's why I let her in.

"Right!" I looked up as the Doctor bounded in, blinking rapidly to clear my slightly blurry vision. He paused, checked over my work, and shot me an oblivious grin before running off around the console and sending us back into the Vortex. Or some subspace of, at least, since our ties to the timeline forbade entering it properly. Stepping back, I grabbed hold of the railings and held on tight, experienced enough by now to ride out the repositioning tremors. It was the temporal ones that sent me sprawling.

"Where's Rose?" I asked after a moment of silence between us. I hadn't trusted my voice to work properly and not give me away; he'd guess in an instant if I wasn't well. I could always claim it was unintentional… but I felt horrible enough about keeping secrets; lying to his face was something I hadn't yet mastered.

The Doctor rolled his eyes and shrugged. "She went home. Why?"

Dafty. "I thought we were bringing her in on the secrets of the universe?" He scoffed and shook his head, me only seeing the back of it as he prodded the arm and glared at the scanner, waiting for a response.

"No, just the knowledge of thought control and living plastic," he responded without looking at me, too immersed in what he was doing. I approached cautiously, sure that I could trust myself to stand and keep Mum's involvement a secret, and hovered over his shoulder. "I wasn't sure if… you'd want another person to come along," he muttered, inching away as if I might explode. "Thought I should ask properly."

I snorted, unable to keep the reaction buried, and the Doctor turned to give me an insulted glare. "Sorry, sorry!" I giggled, waving a hand at him in supplication. "It's just… it sounds like we're talking about adopting a pet or something!" For a fleeting moment, the look he gave me made me question my intelligence; before he snorted a little and rolled his eyes.

"What is it like in your funny little brain?" he asked me over his shoulder, tossing a look. "It must be exhausting."

"Speak for yourself," I retorted, a broad grin spreading across my face. The Doctor watched me for a heartbeat longer, his eyes slightly narrowed as if asking me to either speak or forever hold my peace. I didn't quite know what to say- because, really, what _could _I say?- and deliberately slid my eyes to the scanner, satisfied when he followed suit. The results hadn't come through yet, and… "Doctor," I started, my tone pleasant and calm because I was sure his reaction wouldn't exactly be delight.

"Hmm?" he asked, not noticing the plastic-y goo slowly sinking into the console.

"The arm's melting."

He yelped, ripping the arm off the TARDIS console and tossing it over his head. Something sparked and the smell of burning plastic assaulted my nose. With a cough, I grabbed a fire extinguisher from under the jump seat, just in case, and helped the Doctor in scraping the plastic off. Wheezing in a sickly manner, the TARDIS lurched around us and my feet slipped out from under me, sending me to my knees with a painful crash. The Doctor yanked on the Emergency Landing lever, and I scrambled away as a fire broke out under the console.

"Fire!" I shouted unnecessarily, scowling at the dark look the Doctor sent me in return. I grabbed the extinguisher, which had rolled out of my hands and landed against the doors, and was grateful that the old girl remained steady enough for me to get close enough without being burned. The smell was atrocious and the signal tracker toppled off the console, clattering to the ground near my head. The Doctor kicked it away, his hands hooking under my arms and hauling me to my feet just as we touched down and something, somewhere, tinkled like broken glass.

"That was a disaster," the Doctor said matter-of-factly, and made a sharp about-face to fling the doors open. Only then did I realise how smoky the room was, as I could see the air move after him and disappear out into wherever we'd landed. "Hang on- where are we?"

I checked the scanner as he stuck his head back in, tapping the screen a few times before realising that it was well and truly dead. The TARDIS console still glowed brightly, but since the tracker had been attached to the scanner, something had been thrown out of whack. "It's broken!"

"What is?" the Doctor joined me, tapping the scanner twice just in case before the sonic appeared in his hands. When that too didn't work, he pulled a face and sighed, his face only worsening as he breathed in the burnt plastic and hot metal. "Oh, fan_tastic," _he muttered, rolling his eyes. "Right. Let's get this fixed."

"Cuppa?" I asked, already heading through to the kitchen. He never ate when we were in the middle of an investigation, a habit I found worrying. I'd discovered quite quickly though that he had a soft spot for bananas, and quickly made a habit of leaving them around, unpeeled. He'd eat when he was distracted and hardly know he was doing so; he might be an alien, but he still had to eat.

"Please," his reply drifted down the halls and I ducked into the kitchen, a rather modest room with a line of benches and a pantry bigger than my flat. I could name maybe five things in there- my quiet time, when I wasn't sleeping or in the library, was usually spent rooting around in that pantry to see what I could find. That, of course, was a task for a day when I hadn't been chased, threatened or arrested.

Setting the kettle on, I eyed the pantry, wondering how long it would take me to have a quick peek. I don't know why I insisted on using words regarding tense in the TARDIS anymore; time had no place inside this magnificent ship. I jumped when the kettle boiled, resuming the task of making tea. I think I made tea more than anything else; we were constantly running out of milk. I didn't drink it all, of course, but the physical act of making the tea relaxed me. Snagging a banana and a packet of HobNobs for me, I made my way back to the now blessedly clean-aired console room.

"Kia," the Doctor called as I entered, setting the tea and food down on a reasonably level surface. We needed a table in here, since we hardly used the poor kitchen. There was a fold-out camp table around here somewhere, wasn't there? Shrugging, I grabbed a biscuit and chewed on it happily, leaping into the jump seat. The Doctor appeared around the time rotor, his face a mask of exasperation. "Could you come over here?"

"I've _just _sat down," I replied with an irritable sigh. He groaned and something snapped, provoking a shouted curse.

"_Please!" _he added after a moment. His tone left no room for argument and I leapt up, licking my fingers, to join him.

"You do know I know absolutely nothing about fixing the TARDIS, right?" I asked lightly, trying to lighten the mood a little and get him to stop frowning. He was staring into the depths of the console, trying to hold up a detached lever-box and slide his hand underneath.

"Obviously," he growled, trying to remain calm but I could hear his frustration, his impatience. "But you're small." I scoffed, playing at being insulted as I leaned against the console. "Small fingers," the Doctor continued, his voice tight and strained. "I've dropped the sonic."

I nudged him out the way and he moved to let me closer, still holding the lever-box up so I could peer down and see the sonic. The gap was about half a foot across but rapidly narrowed to the size of a Pringles can; at the bottom, looking up at me forlornly, was the sonic screwdriver. "Have you got pliers or something?" I asked, peering up at the Doctor who gave me a frustrated, miserable look.

"Half an inch short."

"Ah. What about fishing it out with a magnet?"

He sighed loudly. "Non-magnetic metal," he growled. "I'm not taking this entire panel apart unless I absolutely have to."

I nodded and realised I was making an idiot of myself suggesting things he'd most likely already thought of. I put my hand in and stretched, having to wriggle my wrist a little until my fingertips brushed the sonic. After a moment or two of fiddling, it moved again and I held my breath, praying fervently it wouldn't slip further. Luck was on my side, evidently, and I managed to gain another inch of length on my arms, my shoulder twisted at an awkward angle as I strained for it.

"Why'd you put the sonic down there, anyway?" I asked through lightly gritted teeth.

"I thought it was a good idea," he retorted, voice dripping with sarcasm. He adjusted his grip on the lever, prying it open a little more and easing the pressure on my shoulder. I shot him a warning look and his expression softened, a sigh escaping his lips. "Accident. I dropped it."

Another moment passed and I withdrew my arm, wincing when my wrist was scraped on the way up, the sonic pinched between my index and middle fingers. "Ta-Da!" I cried with a flourish, my hands stained and faintly glowing pale blue. The Doctor grinned and obliged me with a celebratory high-five, the glowing blue stuff transferring onto his palms. It didn't do much damage; he had the stuff on the bridge of his nose. "Try not to drop anything else into the artron-inlet manifold, yeah?"

He gave me an odd little look, halfway between admiration and shock as I sauntered back over to my tea and biscuits, twisting my feet under me on the floor to lean against the wall and eat. After a minute or two of silence, the Doctor joined me and his face lit up when he saw the banana. The fact that his tea was lukewarm didn't seem to bother him as he gulped them both down, ignoring the glowing blue fingerprints on the china and banana.

"You look like a disco ball," I pointed out, resting my cheek on my hand. The Doctor snickered and raised his eyebrow at me; all at once, I realised what he was looking at and shrieked as I wrenched my hand away from my face. "Oh, damn!"

"Silly human," he scoffed fondly, pushing me away before yanking me back for a half-hearted, one-armed hug.

"Not for long," I reminded him quietly, my heart skipping a beat with excitement. I didn't mention how much of a turnaround I'd had these last few months; I'd gone from fearing the watch, to accepting it because it contained my mother's remains, to loving it to the point where I was willing to die to keep it- her- safe.

"You're not ready yet, Kia."

I hummed something nonsensical, something halfway between agreement and deference. I was well aware of that; I didn't feel ready in myself, for one. Some days I did, the days where I was closer to death than ever before, when my humanity risked both mine and the Doctor's lives, I wanted to be ready and just get it over with. If he didn't have to watch out for little old human me, things would be easier. But other days… I was just so scared. Terrified that I wouldn't like who I became, that the person I would be would erase everything I was. More than anything, I was scared of what would happen if being on the TARDIS didn't work out; what would I do then? Spend forever living on earth, alone? Wander the stars?

I think I might have been something near dozing when the Doctor moved; he took a sharp breath, jostling me, and I scrambled for my feet as he leapt for his. "Right! So, what are we gonna do about the Nestene?" he asked, hurrying around to the disaster area again. I followed, picking up the remains of the scanner.

"Build a better one of these, for one," I grinned, the cheeky, light-hearted mood returning between us. He shook his head and took it off me, the two of us working- well, him working and me following instructions- in relative silence, just the hum of the TARDIS to keep us company. The doors were still wide open, a fact I took to mean we were so isolated that there was very little chance of anybody walking in. "I'm going to change- I'm starting to smell," I called as I headed to the hallway. A noncommittal grunt followed me, a sound I took to mean I was dismissed.

I kept up a slow jog until I was sure he couldn't hear me anymore, and that's where I let myself slow to a slightly unsteady walk. Lips pursed, I bypassed the wardrobe and library in favour of my bedroom. The bed was still mussed, the blankets half kicked off and the pillows scattered over the mattress. With a moment to spare, I straightened it up a bit, just so it looked like a bed rather than a pile of fabric, and headed for the bathroom near my room.

In a complete turnaround from my usual, it took me just twenty minutes to shower and change, my fresh clothes fresher and making me feel much more energized. Sleep wasn't something that came easily these days; for someone who lived in a time machine, I had remarkably little time to spare. Then again, it was one of the biggest draw cards of life on the TARDIS, something I wouldn't change for the world.

I eyed my bed, wondering how long I'd be able to snag- the Doctor wouldn't disturb me if he knew I was sleeping, he was usually able to look after things on his own. He'd done so before me after all. The more I stared at the bed, the more I wanted to jump in- but at the same time, the knowledge that every minute we spent sitting still was another minute the Nestene Consciousness had to forward their plans.

Shaking it off, I slipped back out into the hallway and drifted lazily for the console room. Absently, I fluffed up my hair to get some air into it- the pressure of the TARDIS oxygen vents lifted at my head-height, as if she was subtly trying to help me. I petted the closest part of the wall in thanks.

"Any luck?" I called, reentering the console room and hopping back into the jump seat. The Doctor, predictably, had moved about the room and I could see a pair of jean-covered legs sticking out of a manhole near the stem of the console. They twitched as I sat cross-legged beside him and as the curiously annoying thing I was, I poked his knee and heard a muffled half-laugh, half-grunt come from somewhere beneath me. "What're you doing?" I asked, a hand on his knee as I leaned forward to stare down at his face.

He was tapping something with the sonic, lips pursed in a tight smile. The Doctor didn't say a word though he kept looking at me, probably waiting until I tried to guess and got it wrong. Instead of giving him the pleasure of being the all-knowing one again, as usual, I poked his thigh and watched the smile widen as his eyes narrowed. "Kia," he said warningly, though he was still smiling despite his tone. "Keep that up and you'll regret it."

"Oh yeah?" I said challengingly, and promptly poked him again. "Watcha gonna do, Time Lord?"

The Doctor's eyebrows raised and his smile grew a little wicked; I didn't want to know what was going on in his head, sometimes. "I'll confiscate your key."

"Pfft," I snorted, moving helpfully as he wriggled his way out and sat up, giving me a long, serious look. My disbelief gave way to self-doubt and my hand moved of its own accord to cover the single silver chain around my neck, which held both the watch and the key. The watch seemed brighter, healthier almost, with the key nearby and I found that having the two together made it easier for me to connect with Mum. "You wouldn't really, would you?" I asked, as the Doctor reached out to flick the chain. I flinched away by instinct and pretended not to see the hurt in his eyes as he stood and bounded away, full of a manic sort of energy that seemed to arise whenever things like that happened.

It wasn't that I didn't trust him, because I did, I _had _to. Time and time again he'd proved that he would never leave me behind if he could help it, and although I'd easily lay down my life for this madman I still couldn't take off the watch and hand it over. I know it hurt him. I know he probably thought I _wouldn't. _I promised myself that one day, I'd withstand my own pain to give him his happiness.

"What're you still down there for?" the Doctor asked, voice brimming with excitement and his volume just a little too loud. "We've got plastic to catch!"

I grinned and held out my hands like a child begging to be picked up; I flexed my fingers and watched his eyes roll before he grasped my palms and hauled me to my feet. I hung as a deadweight for a second or two but it didn't seem to affect him; superior alien strength and all that. "Right then," I breathed, a little winded from getting up too fast, "where are we going?"

He still held my hand as he dragged me round to the scanner, despite it being on a circuit. There, I could see another two signals; the one that was leap-frogging around London, the main transmission we still couldn't pinpoint, and another that was moving very slowly, as if in a car or something. It was a smaller blip, about the same size as the one we'd got off the arm.

"I don't know how one of them escaped that shop," the Doctor muttered, eyes narrowed at the screen. "But I'm gonna find it."

"It wasn't there this morning," I pointed out, trying to be helpful. "We checked, before we went to see Rose, remember? There was only the arm and the leapfrog." The Doctor hummed under his breath; he didn't sound pleased, but his irritation wasn't with me. It was all directed at how difficult this had been so far- what kind of monster hid their tracks this well? It just wasn't fair.

"The Nestene can make copies of itself. If even a sliver of animated plastic survived that blast, it could regenerate into a new form, however small. That could be a plastic mouse."

I snorted, unable to help myself, and he gave me a disparaging grin. "It better not be a spider," I said with a frown, still half amused but that lessened considerably when I caught the Doctor's wicked smile.

"You don't like spiders?" he asked, eyebrows raised.

I felt a little tingle run up my spine. I knew what he was thinking; a few weeks into my travels with the Doctor, we'd started up a little prank war between us. It started when he let Howard Carter break ground on my head and arrest me for tomb robbing in Egypt, as retaliation for me writing over a hundred sticky notes during my designated 'Kia Time' and littering the TARDIS console. They were always harmless pranks, and his were always more effective, but I never backed away from a challenge.

I'd also never let on that I didn't like spiders… until now. "Don't you dare," I said with a warning tone, waving my finger in his face. His hand caught mine and held it, a hurt look on his face.

"Kia, do you really think so little of me?" he asked, his free hand covering one of his hearts. I'd asked him to cross his heart once and he'd giggled through asking me _which one? _"You think I'd use your fear against you?" he continued.

I looked at our intertwined hands, and squeezed his before looking up through my lashes, looking as innocent as I could possibly be. It was a struggle, let me tell you. "Doctor," I said sincerely, stepping closer to cover his other heart with my palm, biting my bottom lip… he gave me a puzzled look, but it wasn't a negative response so my boldness didn't wane. "In all honesty… yes."

"Oi!" he yelped as I skipped away, stopping short when a grinning Time Lord blocked my path. With a shriek- I didn't usually shriek, no matter how childish we were- I turned on my heel, sprinted around the console, and managed to sail past him into the hall. My feet pounded along the grating and I heard him behind me; "Kia! Oi!"

A peel of giggles escaped me as I ducked into the kitchen, using the table to keep distance between me and the Doctor. He was grinning at me, I could barely breathe for laughing- the running didn't affect me anymore, and that short sprint was nothing compared to what I was used to. "What's the matter, eh?" I asked, one eyebrow quirked and a cheesy grin over my face.

"You," the Doctor growled, his expression and the lack of tension in the room taking any menace out of the tone and the man himself. Sometimes, I found myself quite privileged to bear witness to his light hearted moments… especially when I'd seen his darker ones. "Are trouble. Bloody Trouble- _capitalised."_

What cheek! The cheek of this man to call _me _trouble! "Me?" I squealed, outraged. "_I'm _trouble? Have you _seen _yourself?" The Doctor straightened, nose in the air, and stalked from the room. I shook my head as I heard him laughing; seconds later, his head popped back in.

"I'm going out- you coming?"

"Will there be running?" I asked. He nodded. "Danger?" He grinned. "Chaos?"

"Oh yes," the Doctor replied, grinning as he sensed me giving in. With an eyebrow raised, I leaned against the counter and grabbed a green apple, tossing it up in the air. "C'mon!"

"No," I replied, shaking my head. With a roll of his eyes, he gave a groan.

"Killjoy," he muttered. "Fine, stay in and be boring. But you might as well be useful while you're at it." And he disappeared again. Sensing my cue, I followed him out and down the hall, away from the console room, until we came across his laboratory-cross-lair, in which he spent hours upon hours tinkering away. I rarely came in here, as this was the place he usually went to breathe and think; he probably slept in here at some points, because I'd never heard him mention a bedroom.

In the middle of the room, a steel pot bubbled away atop a little gas cooker. A wooden spoon balanced atop the dark blue liquid inside, and the Doctor grabbed it to stir it three times clockwise, twice anticlockwise. It smelled faintly of burning plastic and rubber; not appetising. "This had better not be dinner," I muttered, wrinkling my nose.

The Doctor sighed and scoffed at me. "No. Anti-plastic… just in case." His tone, though he tried to keep it even, dipped into the lower octave I'd come to call his Warning Voice. The Doctor had different tones, and I'd named a few of them; there was Warning Voice, which was the first level of Time Lord Rage. Beyond Danger Voice, there was only Run, and I'd only heard it once. Not a situation I wished to repeat, nor think about, ever again.

"Want me to babysit?" I asked, putting two and two together and coming up correct. Ten points to me. The Doctor flicked a switch and an overhead fan turned on, the air in the room losing much of the stench and heart and turning quite pleasant. I could faintly smell jasmine and vanilla; it made me a little hungry, until I realised I was still holding my apple.

"Please," the Doctor replied. He nodded to a bookshelf and held up a little kitchen timer; it was a penguin, one of those ones where you twist the body around and it ticks until it rings an alarm. I have no idea where- even why- he had it, but it was cute and I liked penguins. "Just stir every half hour; I shouldn't be too long."

"Three clockwise, twice anti," I recited, earning a pleased grin return. "You be careful, alright?"

The Doctor paused, halfway to the door, and shot me a grin. "It's my middle name." And he was gone, the door swishing shut behind him. I shook my head and headed for the bookshelf, browsing until I found something that wasn't Gallifreyan and therefore translatable. The Doctor had tried teaching me his language; I was much better at speaking it than reading it, because my human brain couldn't comprehend the complexity of the hieroglyphics.

I settled down beside the cooker, listening to the penguin's ticking slowly fade out as I opened the book and zoned out.

Despite myself, I couldn't help but worry about him in the back of my mind; it felt like the sort of worry a mother held for her child, because honestly, he reminded me of a vulnerable little boy sometimes. Always running from his secrets.


	4. Underground

**Oh, wow, this chapter really did take it out of me. I wanted to finish up with "Rose" this week and move on, but... you've no idea how much I struggled to stay on task. So forgive me if it doesn't sound so good in the latter part. Thanks guys :) Also, apologies for the 1-day-delay. I know it isn't much, but I usually like to stick to agreements like this one.**

* * *

**Four: Underground**

Three hours.

He'd been gone for three hours.

I know, I know, he's a big boy and a (arguably) super smart time travelling alien but… three hours. The amount of mischief he could cause in three hours was vaguely terrifying and, if I was honest, I was regretting my choice of staying behind to babysit the goop.

The anti-plastic was starting to look quite nasty now, like it was almost alive, and a voice in the back of my mind said I should bottle it off, but I didn't see anything resembling a bottle around and wasn't brave or energetic enough to go digging around through his crap. The fact that he hadn't left something around for me was only confirming my suspicion that he wasn't meaning to be gone this long. Or he forgot. That second part was highly likely, knowing him. His Nibs tended to forget the little things sometimes.

Giving the anti-plastic a seventh stir, I wrestled the wooden spoon away from it and tried to bang the excess back off into the pot. It quivered and I thought I heard a vague whine; it reminded me of Flubber- that green stuff from a Robin Williams film from the nineties. I loved that film when I was younger; it was the first film that made me bawl my eyes out. Mum thought I'd broken a bone with how devastated I was when Weebo died. As a matter of fact, I think I'd still cry at that scene.

Anyway. My anti-plastic reminded me of Flubber, but it was nowhere near as innocently cute. It looked a bit sinister, actually, though that might have something to do with it resembling tar rather than green jelly. A voice in the back of my head whispered that I should turn the heat down; I did so, lowering the fire until the flames were barely there. Little blue flickering dots on the burners. I reset my penguin timer and headed off to the door, intending to have a look outside and see just where the madman was.

Along the way, I stopped off in the kitchen again and peered into the pantry. I'd managed to organise maybe one shelf out of the fifty that stood; it was like a mini supermarket, really, though the stuff on the shelves didn't look safe let alone edible. The shelf that I'd been slowly stocking was full of human food, or things that the Doctor assured me I could eat without breaking out into a virus or growing another head or something. Wonder what I'd look like with two heads? Imagine me with two heads!

Maybe I'd end up with two heads one day. The Doctor said I'd regenerate though we had no idea how many lives I'd have, and that it was a risky process. I could very well end up with two heads. Or no nose, like those dogs on Barcelona. He kept promising to take me… hadn't done so, as yet.

The pantry was as messy as ever. Of course; I hadn't had time in forever to go through any of it. But I did manage to find myself a nice set of chemistry vials with stoppers, which I proudly carried back to the lab. The vials were glass and I had no idea what the anti-plastic would do in glass, but I was about to find out. It took me a minute or two of careful ladling and bullying tactics, but I finally got the purple stuff into three vials and stood it neatly on a nearby table. I considered cleaning up after myself- well, after _him- _but didn't. We'd tackle that later.

I headed back to the console room to return to my part-time task, the one I'd been working on in between running to stir the anti-plastic. The first scanner the Doctor and I had built together had been damaged when the arm melted, and with a little help from a step-by-step guide the TARDIS downloaded for me, I'd been repairing it. I was almost done, just needed to sonic a few bits that the Doctor could do when he got back.

I bit my lip as I looked at the door, wondering if I ought to go out and try to look for him. The idea was silly; of course not. He was fine. Probably lost. Shaking my head, I went to make a cup of tea to calm my nerves. Shut up, I'm British. My hand barely grazed the kettle when I heard an almighty bang and then-

"KIA!"

All thoughts of tea were abandoned as I turned on my heel and sprinted into the console room, arriving out of breath and so happy to see him back. What was wrong with me? Couldn't I be left on my own, at my own request, for a few hours without worrying myself into a frenzy? "You're back!" I grinned, not letting on just what I'd been thinking. The Doctor gave me a brilliant grin and tossed something the size of a basketball at me, followed by the sonic. I caught both easily and looked down; giving a little jolt of surprise as I realised I was holding _a human head. _"Doctor! Who's head have you ripped off!" I hollered, startled and a little bit ill. Its' eyes were open and everything! It was still bloody warm!

"Oh, relax," the Doctor sighed, heading for the TARDIS doors and poking his head out. "Hook him up, would you?"

My sense of touch returned and I realised that the head wasn't actually a head, but a plastic one. A very humanlike plastic head. I shuddered as I worked on the scanner, my back to the door and to the Doctor so I didn't see what he was doing. "Which setting am I on?" I asked without looking up, waiting for a response.

"Seventeen-Omega-Apple-T," the Doctor replied, apparently distracted. I followed his instructions and soon, the head was being zapped away and I turned to interrogate him like some sort of jealous girlfriend. I stopped short, though, at the sight of a familiar blonde girl standing just inside the doors with a shellshocked, what-the-hell expression. She blinked… turned… and ran.

The Doctor looked puzzled, and I rolled my eyes. "She _is _human," I pointed out, and he nodded as if that explained everything. Well, I thought huffily. He could have at least _tried _to say something nice. Through the open doors, I heard something banging against metal and raised my eyebrows. "I guess the body works without the head?"

"Cockroach," he retorted with a grin as I tried not to be amused at him insulting my species. I probably should try to mount some sort of defence but… I couldn't be bothered. Rose ran back through the doors as something outside slammed against the ground; the doors snapped shut behind her, and I heard the lock click into place.

"It's gonna follow us!" she panicked, backing away from the doors as if the plastic body was going to follow us at any moment. The Doctor and I shared looks of equal amusement and pride. She hadn't fainted yet and I'm certain she wasn't crying. Good girl.

"The assembled hoards of Genghis Khan couldn't get through that door, and believe me they've tried," the Doctor responded, taking the sonic out of my slackened grip and getting to work on the head. I didn't recognise who it was, which probably made it easier to see the non-human features. I wondered if it was modelled on anyone in particular… then I wondered whether the model was still alive.

"You're telling me that story one day," I said aloud, hopping up on the jump seat and swinging my legs. I received a bright, excited grin around the time rotor and returned it. We had Rose. The Doctor ducked again to work with the scanner and I looked at Rose, petting the space beside me to encourage her to come in. She took a wary step forward, too busy looking around at the open-plan console room in awe. "Yeah, that was my reaction too," I said, and she jumped as she stared wide-eyed at me. I could see she was either going to hyperventilate or panic and rushed to prevent her. "So, where do you want to start?"

She looked at me like I was mad, then slowly seemed to gain some of that backbone that had impressed me so much when we first met. "Um…" she cleared her throat and stood a little taller; I was inwardly singing the praises of girl power- "It's bigger on the inside?"

"I love when they say that," the Doctor muttered. Rose's attention snapped from me to him then back to slightly dazed staring. "Trans-dimensional," he said a little louder, and from the look on her face she had no idea what that meant.

"You'll get used to him doing that, talking in jargon," I said comfortingly. Rose gave me a tiny smile and I grinned my victory. She was warming up to me!

"It's… alien," Rose murmured, more to herself than anybody. I noticed her slowly stepping closer to me and was pleased; I could do with a friend who wasn't the Doctor.

"Yeah," he called, having finished with the scanner and joined our side of the console, leaning against it with his arms folded. He gave me a brief glance, long enough to gauge how I was liking Rose in the TARDIS- I had the feeling that he didn't usually do this, have two companions at once- before looking away. "Is that a problem?" he shot at the poor girl, who hid her flinch remarkably well and shook her head.

"No," she said instantly, just a little too quickly. "Are- are you alien?" she asked, fascinated by the Doctor. Anyone would be; he had one of those faces. I said that a lot about him, that he had one of those faces. Truth.

"Yup," the Doctor replied, popping the 'p' and grinning when I made a little tutting sound. He knew him popping his lips annoyed me, which is why he found any opportunity to use the letter 'p' in a sentence. Prat.

Rose looked at me then, and I anticipated the question coming but let her ask anyway. This was about her now; she needed to feel that she had some control over the situation or she'd freak out. "And you? Are you an alien?"

The Doctor looked at me as I looked at him. I never knew how to answer this one; once upon a time, I would have said yes in a heartbeat and gone on my merry way. "Um," I said helpfully, scratching the back of my neck. I was lost, really. If I said yes, it would be a lie, because I wasn't quite human anymore. Oh sure, I still had the DNA of a human being, but my head was so full of _otherness _that it wasn't earthly. And I wouldn't be human forever…

"She's almost as human as you,"the Doctor supplied, trying to help but only succeeding in confusing Rose further. I wasn't much better, though.

"Not… quite human," I finished, shrugging. It was the best either of us could do. Rose, who had been holding up remarkably well so far, nodded stiffly and tried hard not to cry. "You alright?" I asked quickly. She nodded, her bottom lip disappearing between her teeth as she worried at it.

The Doctor, never one to be good with long silences, clapped his hands. "It's called a TARDIS, this thing-" I coughed indignantly, giving him a _look _as he referred to the TARDIS as an 'it' and 'thing'- "- Time And Relative Dimensions In Space…"

"Conjunction capitalised," I finished with him, both of us grinning at the old inside joke.

"What'd you do with the plastic?" the Doctor asked quickly, as if the idea had just popped into his head.

"Found some vials in the kitchen, sealed it up," I replied almost under my breath. He nodded and smiled, pleased, as we both turned to Rose and found that she'd burst into tears.

"Culture shock," the Doctor diagnosed, "happens to the best of us. Though you didn't cry," he looked at me like I was weird, and I shrugged.

"And this offends you?" I retorted, scoffing.

"Is he dead?" Rose asked, interrupting us. I didn't mind as I realised at the same time as the Doctor that we'd forgotten her. Again. I made a mental note to _not _exclude Rose. I was no longer the only passenger on the TARDIS, time I started sharing.

"Who?" the Doctor asked. I elbowed him with a low hiss and Rose sobbed.

"Mickey! Is he dead?" she asked again. I stepped forward to pet her shoulder and she leaned into me slightly. I took it for the sign of trust that it was.

"Didn't think of that," the Doctor muttered. I shot him a stare and rolled my eyes. Of course he didn't. But then again, that's kind of where I came in. He was the brains, I was the heart, because God knows he couldn't control all three organs at once.

"He's my boyfriend!" Rose snapped, irritated as she should well be. "You pulled off his head! They copied himand you didn't even think? And now you're just gonna let him melt?"

"Melt?" The Doctor repeated, turning to look as my head snapped to the console. My scanner, the beautiful scanner I'd spent hours trying to fix, was sparking and fizzing as the head melted into the console. "Oh, no! No, no, no! Kia!"

"I know!" I shouted, already leaping up to help him pilot. He did the important bits and the not-important bits and I took care of the bits in between. We were a good team. "Hold on!" I shouted at Rose, almost losing my own footing and being hauled up by the Doctor grabbing my elbow. I ducked as he reached for the grounding lever and the TARDIS rattled as she came to a halt, shuddering violently as she tried to combat both our rough handling- I apologised mentally for that- and the plastic getting into her innards again.

The Doctor, realising that I was steady again, yanked the portable nanomechanical loudspeaker off the charging pad and took off out the door. I shot Rose a small smile and pointed to the door, nodding for her to follow him.

"But… that thing… isn't not safe," she said, puzzled, and looking very concerned for the Doctor's wellbeing. I just giggled and winked as I took off down the halls, intending to grab a vial of anti-plastic just in case. We were getting close to finishing this, I could feel it; the scanner was only showing one bouncing signal now, the one we'd been looking for since this whole incident started. Now that we were free of distractions, the Doctor and I wouldn't take long to wrap things up.

Outside, I could hear the Doctor's loud voice even through the closed TARDIS doors. "Yes, it is!" he'd exclaimed, and I hurried out to make sure he wasn't reducing Rose to tears. I liked her, and didn't want to scare her off with his temper tantrums.

"If you are an alien," Rose replied, her back to me and her hands on her hips. "How comes you sound like you're from the North?"

I'll give her credit, she certainly had spunk. I hadn't even thought to ask about his accent, just accepting him and the alien story as it was. Probably helped that I'd been let in on the two-hearts thing early.

The Doctor's gaze flicked to me over Rose's shoulder and I held up the anti-plastic. He smiled and nodded at me, as I slipped it into my pocket. "Lots of planets have a north," he said to Rose, satisfied that at least I was armed. Stupid man. He'd never hold a weapon of his own but he had very little hesitation in giving me anything to keep me out of harm's way.

"And what's a… police public call box?" she continued, curiously walking around the TARDIS. The Doctor grabbed my hand as he passed, spinning me under his arm with the two of us ending up leaning on the nearby railings, his arm on my shoulders and mine around his waist.

"It's a telephone box from the 1950's. It's a disguise," he replied.

"It's a little bit broken," I added- the Doctor gave me a _look _and I just giggled, poking him in the side and winking at Rose when she gave me a searching look, trying to figure out just what was going on between the Doctor and I. It might look like we were something special, something _more, _but we weren't. I loved him, yes, but more as one loved an irritating older brother rather than a lover.

"Okay," Rose nodded, taking it all in and apparently finding whatever she was looking for. "And this… this living plastic. What's it got against us?"

"Nothing, it loves earth," I replied easily, letting the Doctor take over the explanation. I'd probably end up sounding like I was reciting out of a textbook, which to be honest I was. There were a few species guides in the library and in the Doctor's lair that I'd managed to peruse while waiting for him to get back.

"You've got such a good planet, lots of smoke and oil, plenty of toxins and dioxins in the air. Just what the Nestene Consciousness needs. It's food stock was destroyed in the war-" I shot him a _look _then, because that hadn't been in any book I read and I'd never, ever heard him mention the war so casually. He must have sensed my surprise, because the arm around my shoulders tightened briefly in a slight hug, though he never missed a beat; "All it's protein plants rotted, so Earth… dinner!"

I giggled a little, one eyebrow raised. "Reminds me of when you try to cook."

"You're being rude," the Doctor muttered.

"Stealing your thunder, am I?" I retorted quickly. Rose giggled and the Doctor sighed, irritated, but I could see his lips twitching despite himself. He liked when I challenged him, enjoyed the fact that I quite often had something to say and would say it with no fear. I did know when to stop though.

"Is there any way to stop it?" Rose asked, _yet again _pulling me and the Doctor around. I huffed a little, under my breath, and the Doctor seemed simply amused as he dug his hand into my pocket- I squeaked and jerked away, glaring as I pulled the anti-plastic out and he took it.

"Anti-plastic," he announced, shaking it at Rose.

"Anti-plastic," she echoed, a little disbelieving.

I shrugged. "Anti-plastic."

"But we've got to find it first," the Doctor muttered, sighing a little frustrated. I was too, to be honest, having hoped to get this over with as quickly as possible. Now that we'd destroyed the Henriks' transmitter and the plastic copy of Rose's boyfriend, the Nestene would likely know we were onto it. There were two options for the Consciousnes now; fight or flight. From what I'd heard and read, the Nestene didn't seem like the type of creature to run.

"How can you hide something that big in a city this small?" I asked, somewhat rhetorically. It still did my head in sometimes to think that one day, I'd thought Cardiff was huge. My world had been so miniscule before I met the Doctor; he had opened my eyes and shown me stars.

"Hide what?" Rose asked, eyebrow raised.

"The transmitter," the Doctor answered, distracted by his own thoughts. "The Consciousness is controlling every single piece of plastic… so it needs a transmitter to boost the signal."

Rose nodded, taking the information in. The Doctor stared at the sky as if it might give him answers and I watched Rose, seeing her brow furrow, deep in thought. "What's it look like?"

"Like a transmitter," the Doctor said helpfully. Rose met my gaze and we both rolled them, snickering, at the same time. "Round and massive, slap bang in the middle of London… a huge circular metal structure, like a dish, like a wheel…" as that word passed his lips, something clicked in my brain and I turned to look over his shoulder, spotting the London Eye. "Must be completely invisible…"

"Do you see it?" Rose asked me quietly, the two of us standing side by side now. I nodded, hands on hips, and the Doctor stopped talking to stare at us both.

"What?" he asked, oblivious. "What?" We both stared pointedly at the Eye, Rose raising her eyebrows and me starting to grin at how thick he could be. So much for super-smart-time-travelling alien. He really was a bloody moron sometimes. "What is it?" he asked, a little snappishly, as he turned to follow our gaze and snapped back to stare at us once again. "_What?" _he bit out at me, eyes narrowed. I pointed wordlessly; he turned again… "Oh," he met my gaze, winked as if he'd seen it all along, and beamed. "Fantastic!"

He leapt forward, grabbed my hand, and started running. I had about a blink of an eye to gather my reflexes to avoid being dragged along the ground; Rose kept pace and I made sure the Doctor didn't pull me too fast for her to keep up. I would've grabbed her hand, but running this fast without at least one arm free was a little beyond my co-ordination levels. We bolted across the bridge, drawing closer to the largest wheel in the world so far. I wanted to go on it, abruptly, just to see London at night from above.

"Think of it, plastic all over the world, every artificial thing waiting to come alive. The shop window dummies, the phones, the wires, the cables-"

"The breast implants," Rose added casually. I stared at her for the briefest moment before collapsing in hopeless, immature giggles, trying to rid my head of the images. She grinned back at me and accepted my high-five, neither of us paying a lick of attention to the Doctor shaking his head.

"Humans," he sighed, a long-suffering action that I'd heard a million times before, and thus took no offense too. Rose only looked mildly uncomfortable, as if she'd just remembered that he wasn't from Earth. "Still, we've found the transmitter… why didn't you think of this sooner?" he said to me abruptly, hands on his hips as if he were frustrated.

I folded mine over my chest and glared playfully. "Am I psychic now?" I asked, referring to the fact that neither of us had known what the transmitter would look like. Correction; I hadn't known. He obviously had and had neglected to tell me, or told me while I was reading, in which case it didn't count because he should know me well enough by now. If I had a book in my hands and wasn't making eye contact, I wasn't listening.

He just shrugged. "The Consciousness must be somewhere nearby. Underneath, maybe?"

"Well, there aren't any vats of plastic up here," I murmured. Rose snickered slightly, sounding a little distracted. She stepped off to the left and peered into the gloom under the bridge, to see a manhole set in concrete.

"What about down here?" she asked, already heading down with me on her heels. The Doctor joined us and smiled, nodding at her in a very pleased manner. The sonic appeared in his hand- I never saw him reach for it, it was always just _there- _and in seconds, the cover was off. A red light shone out and blinded me slightly, making it impossible to see what was waiting for us at the bottom. "Who's first?" Rose asked.

I lifted my leg to climb in, finding my ankle grasped in a large hand a second later as the Doctor gently moved me out of the way. "Kia, what's rule one?" he asked, halfway in and staring at me seriously.

His expression left no room for jokes so I just smiled reassuringly back. "If anything happens, run," I recited. We'd changed Rule One months ago, though I'd yet to actually follow it. By the look he gave me, I think he knew that the likelihood of me leaving him was about equal with the likelihood of him throwing my watch into a supernova.

The ladder was short, only about five or six steps. Lucky for me, and my still rather rubbish co-ordination. The Doctor wanted to set off down the corridor straight away but I caught his sleeve, holding him back and giving him a pointed look as Rose climbed down to join us. She looked nervous; as nervous as I imagine I had looked way back when I first met the Doctor. I placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled, trying to boost her courage. _Come on, Rose,_ I thought. _You've been doing so well._

The Doctor slipped his fingers through mine and led me on. Rose caught sight of the gesture and I wriggled my fingers at her, drawing a shaky smile that I counted as a victory for me. The corridor opened up into a huge underground chamber, with a catwalk stretching around the walls and a wide platform overlooking a vat of what looked like rolling molten lava, just without the heat. The vat took up as much space as an entire basketball court and the entire thing was moving.

The Doctor, Rose and I stood on the catwalk overlooking the platform, him still holding my hand. In the beginning, it had been to comfort me when I was nervous. Now, though, it was less about that and more about reassurance that I was still there, still by his side. "The Nestene Consciousness," he murmured, eyes hardened. "That's it, inside the vat. A living plastic creature."

"Well then," Rose muttered shakily. "Tip in your anti-plastic and let's go."

The glares we both sent her way made her shrink away from us slightly, and I made a conscious effort to soften my expression. She was new. She didn't know how we worked. "I'm not here to kill it," the Doctor said sharply as I tugged on his hand, calming him down slightly. "I've got to give it a chance. C'mon," he tugged me along and we approached the Nestene, leaving Rose up on the platform. She could've left, or joined us, but as I glanced back I saw she did neither. There was a middle level between our entryway and the platform, another little ledge built into the wall. A boy who looked remarkably like the now melted plastic head. "I seek audience with the Nestene Consciousness under peaceful contract according to Convention Fifteen of the Shadow Proclamation."

"Please," I added, the word a little unnecessary. I caught the smile appearing on the Doctor's face though, happy I could cheer him just a little.

The Nestene bubbled beneath us and the entire room seemed to rumble and shake as it spoke back. "Audience granted," the Consciousness bellowed. I wanted to cover my ears but thought that might look rude, so I sucked it up and subconsciously stepped a little closer to the Doctor.

"Thank you," he said, his hand tugging mine as if pointing out that he'd used his manners. I smiled into his arm, standing slightly behind him now. "If I might have permission to approach?" The Nestene roared something that sounded like a yes, though I could've been mistaken as it wasn't easy to pick English out of unintelligible noise. The Doctor stepped forward, me echoing his footsteps.

"Doctor! They kept him alive!" Rose shouted from behind us. He didn't turn to look and neither did I, both of us focussed on the Nestene now. We'd get to Rose and Ricky- um, Dicky- no, Mickey- later.

"Yeah, that was always a possibility, keep him alive to maintain the copy," the Doctor shouted over his shoulder, not moving an inch. Rose gave a small cry of indignation and I couldn't blame her. I'd be the same if I was in her shoes.

"You knew?" she cried, and I had the feeling she might very well want my head too, simply because she'd assume I was in cahoots with him. On a random side note; that's my word of the day. Cahoots. "You knew and you never said?"

"Can we keep the domestics outside, thank you?" the Doctor glanced back at Rose irritably and I tried to send her a smile, receiving the back of her head since she'd ducked down to Mickey again and was trying to untie him. At least she wasn't sitting doing nothing. "Am I addressing the Consciousness?" there was another affirmative roar. "Thank you. If I might observe, you infiltrated this civilisation by means of warp shunt technology. So, may I suggest, with the greatest respect-" I was almost giggling now, my face red for trying to keep silent- "that you shunt off?"

Amazed, I watched the Nestene Consciousness form a sort of glowing face, trying to mimic the features of the most populous species on the planet. The mouth- or what I assumed passed for the mouth- started moving as the roars filled the chamber again. "This is not an invasion! We are an ancient and mighty race with many hungry mouths to feed. We have nowhere else to go. We have a constitutional right to seek food and refuge on Sol 5!"

The Doctor scoffed. "Oh, don't give me that. It's an invasion, plain and simple. Don't talk about constitutional rights-" the Nestene reared up and I shrank away, not nervous or frightened just feeling better when I was behind the Doctor. Cowardly, I know. "I. Am. Talking!" he roared, squeezing my hand. He always amazed me with how he could take care of me and save a planet at the same time. This man was truly astounding. "These stupid little people have only just learned how to walk, but they're capable of so much more!"

We so were. I'd seen the future, I knew where humans ended up, spread out across the stars, conquering the universe and inventing things that the people of this time could only dream of. The Nestene kept roaring, though a little quieter now, and I heard the words 'worthless' and 'primitive' in there somewhere. "We are _not!" _I shouted, abruptly finding my backbone. "We are children who need nurturing, not conquering! We need your _help _and your guidance- the humans oppress each other enough, we don't need your help in doing it!"

The Doctor was staring at me. I couldn't name the expression on his face, but I bet he wasn't expecting me to get my back up so quickly. I could take his little digs at the human race, because I knew he meant them mostly in jest and deep down, loved us. But the Nestene- a clear and present threat- was not getting away with it. "Kia," the Doctor murmured, pressing a kiss to my temple. It was all I needed to know how proud he was of me.

"We're asking on their behalf-" another look of surprise from the Doctor. Boy, I was full of them today. "Leave. Please, just go."

A pair of hands wrapped around my shoulders and dragged me back, my hand yanked out of the Doctor's grasp as he was pulled away from me. "Doctor!" Rose shouted. _Don't worry about me, then, _I thought snippily. I couldn't scream as a hand went over my mouth and a strong, inhuman arm held me tightly. The Doctor had two mannequins holding him and his gaze wasn't on the Nestene or Rose; but locked on me. Panic and fear were in his eyes and I struggled feebly, trying to break free enough to tell him I was fine.

The Doctor struggled harder as the mannequins searched him- and me, and I would've felt a little more freaked out if they were real people and not dummies. I watched with wide eyes as the ones frisking the Doctor pulled out the anti-plastic… to my surprise, he looked relieved and glanced over at me. That idiot. That _absolute _idiot; he was thankful that _he _had it and not me. I was going to _kill him. _"That was just insurance. I wasn't going to use it! I was _not _attacking you- I'm here to help! I'm not your enemy, I swear I'm not! What do you mean?"

The Nestene was incoherent with rage now, threatened and clearly frightened. A door in the wall above us slid open to reveal the TARDIS- my knees went a little weak at the sight of her and I started struggling harder, trying to wrench my way free to do _something._

"No. Oh, no… yes that's my ship," the Doctor sighed, resigned.

"You destroyed us, Doctor!" the Nestene roared. The look on his face stung and I wanted so badly to stand between him and the world. "You are the reason for so much pain and suffering! You destroyed the way things were! You could have stopped it!"

"That's not true!" he shouted, little bits of spittle flying out of his mouth. "I should know, I was there! I fought in the war, it wasn't my fault! I couldn't save your world! I couldn't save any of them!" He sounded broken. He sounded despairing. He sounded like he did when I first met him, when the mere mention of the war would send him storming off through the TARDIS. I thought he was getting better… better at _hiding it, _I now realised.

"You are the Destroyer of Worlds!" The Nestene screamed, as coils of electricity started building up inside it and firing up, through the metal structure of the Eye, and across London and the world. "And now you have destroyed this world, too!"

"NO!" I screamed, finally managing to get my head free. The Doctor didn't look at me and I found a strength I didn't know I had well up inside me; with the most vicious snarl I'd ever released in my life, I pushed the mannequin's arm off my chest and heard it crack. My head was fuzzy and my limbs weren't quite my own; of course they weren't. I wasn't entirely me anymore.

"Get out, Rose! Just leg it! Rule One!" The Doctor shouted at me and at Rose. I ignored him and sprinted to his side, slamming into him and wrapping my arms around his neck. I don't think I could have held him any tighter, and I knew this would do very little to soothe the hurt and guilt he was carrying, but I prayed I could somewhat ease it.

"Together or not at all," I said into his ear, and he pushed me back to meet my eyes. I think he knew it wasn't entirely me, but he didn't say a word as he pushed my hair over my ears, a brief tender moment in the midst of the world ending. If I had to die for anything, I would always want to die for Earth or for him. "Rose!" I shouted, my fear completely gone now. "Get _out!"_

"The stairs are gone!" she cried back faintly, and I didn't spare another glance at her as the dummy I'd escaped from grabbed me and dragged me away, fighting all the way. The Doctor fought harder for me and his struggle gave me strength.

I dug my heels in as I was dragged closer to the vat. The Doctor was beside me and I didn't look over; together or not at all, indeed. Him and me, we were a team. We'd die together, I swore it right then. The mannequin behind me pushed me closer and I nearly fell, grabbing the railings at the last minute to keep myself alive. "No!" the Doctor shouted, terrified.

I could see the anti-plastic. But with my feet dangling in midair and only my grip on a wrist-thick piece of metal to keep me alive, there was nothing I could do. I was helpless and the dummy was reaching for my fingers, to either yank me off or break me into pieces. I held on, determined to stay alive… and then, the mannequin pitched over my head and into the Nestene, smouldering as it sank into the golden blob. Two more fell after it, the second one dropping the vial of anti-plastic as it fell.

Grunting, I tried to pull myself up and found two hands grabbing me, helping me up. My feet didn't even touch the ground before I was swept up in a hug that knocked the breath out of me. Rough lips pressed against my cheek and I thought I felt a little moisture from him- could've been me, I think I might've been crying too.

There was silence as we headed to the TARDIS, the Doctor allowing me the honour of unlocking the door, though he didn't leave my side and kept me with him as we both piloted the ship to the Powell Estate. Rose was on the phone to her mum, checking that she was still alive, and Mickey cowered by the door with his eyes shut and hands pressed tightly over his face. He was rocking and whimpering a little, and I felt sort of sorry for him.

The TARDIS landed with the familiar thud-and-whine and Mickey bolted as soon as he could. Rose hurried after him, finding him throwing up behind a pallet against a wall. The Doctor leaned against the doorway of the TARDIS and I leaned against him, unable to move further as he wrapped an arm around me. Adventures like this one, where he nearly lost me, tended to make him more affectionate than usual. I wasn't complaining; I kind of liked an affectionate Doctor.

"Fat lot of good you were," Rose laughed, skipping back over. I smiled at her thinly, the Doctor echoing me. We were tired, me moreso. I hadn't slept in days… hadn't eaten much either.

"Nestene Consciousness?" the Doctor grinned, nudging me. "Easy."

I grinned up at him, both of us having easy masks slip on. "You were useless in there," Rose pointed out; "You'd both be dead if it weren't for me."

"Yeah, we would," I admitted. "Thank you."

We fell quiet for a bit, Rose watching the two of us and me just wanting to head to bed already. Cup of tea first though; I couldn't go to bed without one. Probably why I talked in my sleep, according to the Doctor. "Right then," the Doctor clapped, standing up abruptly and pushing me to my feet as well. "We'll be off, unless… y'know, you could come with? This box isn't just a London hopper you know. It goes anywhere in the universe."

"Free of charge," I added with an encouraging smile, silently begging her to come with us. Another girl on board would be fabulous; I'd never really had many friends, but I had the feeling Rose and I could be great ones if she'd only say yes.

"Don't!" Mickey shouted, panicking and holding onto Rose's knees. "They're aliens! They're things!" I sighed and rolled my eyes at him, pity gone just like that.

"Actually, no, we have feelings," I retorted waspishly, still a little touchy when it came to defending the Doctor. What had happened down with the Nestene still played on my mind and I was determined to have a long, proper chat with him… if he'd let me. The chances of that actually happening were pretty small but I wanted so badly to erase the image of his devastated face from my mind.

"He's not invited," the Doctor added, scowling at Mickey. "What do you think, then? You could stay here, fill your life with work and food and sleep… or you could go _anywhere."_

He made quite a point. "How come I didn't get a sales pitch?" I grumbled good-naturedly. The Doctor never tried to sell this life to me; he just opened the TARDIS doors, took my hand and that was it.

"You didn't need one," he muttered back, sounding quite pleased at that fact.

"Is it always this dangerous?" Rose asked, uncertain. We both nodded. I could see her wanting so badly to say yes, but she was being responsible and so humanly selfless by thinking of other people first. Namely, the sobbing lump at her feet. "Yeah… I can't. I've, er… got to go find my mum and someone's got to look after this stupid lump, so…"

I felt my heart sink and my face fall, the Doctor giving me a sympathetic nudge as we stepped back inside. "Okay. See you around." We wouldn't, I knew we wouldn't see her again. The adventure was over, the TARDIS was free to leave the time stream, we could go anywhere and any-when. I'd gotten my hopes up so high only to have them crushed.

I headed for the console to join the Doctor, trying to conjure "Hang on," I said, stopping just inside the banisters and holding up a hand. "Did we tell her she travels in time?"

* * *

**I might be a little incoherent this evening, perhaps because I'm so tired that I can barely remember the word I just wrote let alone think ahead to the next one. I'm just alert enough to realise that I've spelled something wrong, but beyond that I'm done. Just done. This chapter really caused headaches for me :( What did you guys think? Am I doing okay so far?**

**Next Update; 29th Jan. :D**


	5. New Addition

Hello lovelies. I know I was supposed to update a few days ago; but these longer chapters are really doing my head in. I know I've practically got them half-written just by following the episodes, but it's not quite that easy as re-writing it with Kia, you know? I want her to have an active part in it, not just trail behind the Doctor and Rose.

Also, you will notice I've tried something new in this chapter. It's an experiment, and you, my dears, are my guinea pigs. I've decided to try scene-switching, instead of having it all First-Person-Kia. Let me know what you think of the Doctor/Rose third person; if you enjoy the insight, it will make more appearances. If not I'll go back to pure first person.

As always, thank you for reading and your patience!

A special shout-out to **britt4565** who was the one who really got my a**e into gear to write this one out.

- MS xx

* * *

**Five: New Addition**

"Go to bed."

I looked up from twiddling my thumbs, blearily focused on the man in leather before me. His arms were folded and left no room for argument; naturally, I started to argue. "But-"

"No," he interrupted, holding up a hand and narrowing his eyes. "You can barely stand, you've been talking to that watch, you're going to bed." My mouth hung open for a few seconds, glancing to Rose who was leaning against the console and watching us cautiously. We'd practically kidnapped this girl off a London street, right in front of her boyfriend. It was a thrilling sort of feeling, that. I'd let the Doctor take over the socialising, letting him chatter away as I slumped against the wall, head hung, and eyes half closed.

"Alright," I said finally, sighing a little as I pushed myself off the wall and swayed on my feet, my head spinning and my eyes squeezing shut to keep the room from tilting. It didn't work; I lurched to one side and felt a pair of arms catch me, holding me steady until I could open my eyes and nod, thanking him silently for stopping me hitting the ground. It had never been this bad before, the post-connection sickness. Every time I connected with the watch, I felt a little woozy, but never like this. My stomach was heaving and my heart was racing, my mind fluttering between awake and asleep as I struggled to keep control over myself.

"Take it off tonight," the Doctor muttered as he wrapped an arm around my waist and walked me to the door. I didn't protest or try to walk alone; he was right, I couldn't do it by myself. I hated relying on him for anything, hated that this made me so weak. I smiled at Rose as we passed her and she looked so concerned that I wanted to stay up just a little bit longer and tell her everything. "Kia, did you hear?" the Doctor asked me again, a little louder.

I glared up at him, nodding, my lips pressed tightly together to keep down whatever minimal food substance in my stomach. "I heard," I said through gritted teeth. Progress down the hall was slow, but thankfully we didn't have far to go. The TARDIS, the darling, had shifted my room as close as she could and the familiar green door greeted me with a feeling of warmth blossoming in my chest. Something shifted in my head and the pressure was lessened the moment I stepped inside; I looked up, a little more stable, and the Doctor helped me stumble to my messy bed.

"I installed a suppression field," he started, though the words rolled right over me as I lay with my arm flung across my eyes, squeezing a fistful of blankets as the tension in my bones oozed away. "It will dull the pain but won't shut you out… you're not listening," the Doctor whispered, chuckling slightly as I nodded in agreement, sluggishly wriggling my way under the blankets as he tucked me in like a child, making sure I was settled. "I'm going to take Rose out for a bit," he whispered, leaning down to kiss my forehead.

I scrunched up my face in protest of the action and he flicked the spot he'd kissed, just to make me squeak and wriggle away. "Mean," I muttered, smiling beneath hooded eyes. They slowly started to close, though my mind wasn't quieted enough to ignore when the Doctor's hand rested on my cheek and he sighed, perched on the bed as I curled around his back.

"I expect fifteen hours of sleep from you," he said, tone light but volume low. I had a feeling he thought I was asleep and I stayed still to not shatter the moment. I wondered if he'd say anything further, and was slightly relieved when he remained silent and quietly slipped away, leaving me to drift away into exhaustion-fuelled slumber. Faintly, I heard the TARDIS engines take off and land, and the front doors close as Rose and the Doctor left the ship.

-[-]-

"Where are we going then?" Rose asked, grinning. The Doctor glanced worriedly back into the TARDIS, silently asking her to watch over the weakened half-human in her midst. The ship groaned and a monitoring light connected psychically to Kia's heartbeat started to blink above the scanner. If something happened, the Doctor knew, the TARDIS would drag his arse back there in a second. She was as fond of their Kia as he was.

"Out," the Doctor replied to Rose, who was beaming at him in excited anticipation. She hadn't asked about Kia yet, but it had been obvious that the brunette was not okay when she'd gone to bed. The Doctor realised, with a small nudge of regret, that he hadn't explained anything to Rose before taking off to make sure Kia was going to recover. Normally, he'd never have taken notice of things like that, but if Kia had been alert enough she would've slapped his arm. _Rude, _she'd say with a patronising tone, the barely-concealed grin on her lips taking all the sting out of the jibe. He'd grin back at her, say something jokingly derogatory about humans, and she'd laugh, the offence sliding right off her back.

"Where are we?" Rose's voice snapped the Doctor out of his reverie and he finally shut the TARDIS doors, feeling a little lost without his companion by his side. He hated starting over and while he technically still had Kia, not having her right there with him felt weird. Wrong, somehow. "Oh… is that- is that Earth?" Rose was at the viewing window where a distant Earth hung in the sky, the sun dangerously huge and close to exploding.

"This is the year five point five slash apple slash twenty six. Five billion years in your future, and this is the day…" he held up his hand, looking at the wristwatch Kia had gifted him as a joke. The Doctor hadn't been one for celebrating anniversaries or silly sentimental things like that, but when he made a casual remark about Kia having spent six months on the TARDIS, she'd disappeared and returned an hour later with the watch to mark the day. He couldn't remember what he'd given her in return, though he could bet it wasn't much. He didn't do sentimental; he couldn't afford to get too attached. Outside the viewing window, the sun flared and started to boil brilliant shades of magenta, orange and red- mostly red, though, the colour of impending doom. "This is the day the sun expands. Welcome to the end of the world."

Rose's face read shock and surprise, a little bit of fear, as she gazed down at her home planet. The idea that she was about to watch it burn hadn't quite sunk in yet and the Doctor wondered why he'd chosen this date in particular. Because he was showing off? Or because he wanted to see her face when _her _planet exploded? The idea that he'd brought her here for some sick, subconscious need to share his pain made him want to crawl back on the TARDIS and hide.

But he didn't. Because Rose was there and she held a look of innocent naiveté that would die within the hour. It was like he had an unhealthy obsession with finding the most innocent, the sweetest, the kindest hearts and though he had the best intentions, he would always end up twisting them beyond repair. Briefly, he wondered what Rose would be like when she finally decided to leave. Would she still be recognisably herself? Or would she change into another creature entirely?

"Doctor?" Rose called, standing a few yards away by the viewing window. He joined her in an instant, watching a pair of ships draw near and line up in the pre-docking formation. Above them, a mechanical voice spoke.

"_Shuttles five and six now docking. Guests are reminded that Platform One forbids the use of weapons, teleportation and religion. Earth Death is scheduled for fifteen thirty-nine."_

Rose looked at her phone, checking the time on it. The Doctor glanced over her shoulder though he didn't need to. He knew they had a decent hour before the show began. Watching the ships, the Doctor started to smile, recognising the insignia upon the roof of one. "C'mon," he said to Rose, nodding at the door and heading out into the hallway. She was on his heels like a lost puppy and as the door whooshed shut behind him, he couldn't help the sudden urge to seal off that room completely and keep the TARDIS- and her precious cargo- completely safe.

"When they say guests…" Rose began, her tone thoughtful as she hopped alongside him. The Doctor barely glanced down, though a tight smile had appeared on his face. "Does that mean people?"

Oh, he should have seen that one coming. He wondered how she'd handle her first encounter with aliens that didn't want to kill her. He remembered Kia had introduced hugging to Felspoon- the locals had thought it was novel, the way she expressed her affection, since they usually poked one another in the stomach. One couldn't walk through the Felspoon Markets without hugging every vendor along the way.

"Depends what you mean by people," he responded at length, aware that he was letting his mind wander a little too much. He could though. Super-smart-alien-time-traveller and such. He could afford to think about fifty other things and still uphold a conversation with a human.

"I mean people. What do you mean?" Rose asked, puzzled. It was clear that she'd never thought of the term 'people' being used in reference of other species.

He smirked a little, fully hoping that there would be some real lookers at the party. "Aliens," he replied shortly, and she winced a little before putting on a brave face.

"What are they all doing on this spaceship then? What's it all for?"

The Doctor opened the door to the main observation gallery, gesturing for Rose to enter before him. The room was still empty, a sign he took as good. He could answer her questions before presenting her to the polite society of the Sol system. "It's not really a spaceship," he said, nodding to the wall of windows facing Earth, which looked pathetically small against the giant of a sun behind it. The amount of power that would be wasted here almost made his head hurt; how many underfed planets could be nurtured with it, if only they'd harvest it instead of resisting it. "More like a giant observation deck. They're here to watch the world burn."

Rose flinched and he almost felt guilty. Okay. He did feel guilty, but… she hadn't requested a destination, had just said _forwards. _And he was kind of showing off. "Why?" she asked, her voice incredibly small.

"Fun," he replied somewhat darkly. She nodded but didn't turn to face him and he could see the stricken expression on her face in her reflection. "Mind you, when I said the great and good… I meant the rich."

Rose smiled, a tiny twitch of the lips, but her mood was definitely lifted. "But, hold on. They did this once on Newsround Extra-" he nodded, pretending he knew what that was. He'd have to ask Kia later on, she was an expert on Earthly pop-culture and would have no issue in haranguing him into hours of the Tube-You thing. Darn, what was it called again? "The sun expanding… doesn't that take hundreds of years?"

"Millions," the Doctor corrected with a nod, quietly pleased that she wasn't just sitting by and taking his word for it. He liked it when his companions had input in the situation at hand, even if it was rather boring. So far. He half hoped something would go wrong and give him something to do- it was unnerving to have everything go right. It made him think karma had something big in store for next time, and that didn't sit well in his head. "That planet's the property of the National Trust. They've been holding the sun back… but now the money's run out, the world burns."

"What about the continents and stuff? Don't they move about?"

He nodded again, recalling what Earth looked like a few billion years before their current location. It had gone full circle- North America had merged with Russia, and Australia sort of weaselled its way between them, like a child slipping into his parents' bed. "The Trust shifted them back," he said, leaning against the wall beside Rose. "That's a classic Earth." Privately, he liked it better this way. This way it was universally recognised and the exact way it had been every time he'd returned to it for sanctuary.

"How long's it got?" Rose whispered, fascinated by the whole thing though he could see the shadows in her eyes, the little voice in the back of her mind telling her she really shouldn't be.

He checked his watch again. He didn't need to, but the gesture made him look more human. According to Kia, he needed all the help he could get sometimes. _Mad Martian, _she'd call him, and giggle as he protested the association with Mars. He couldn't pinpoint why he was so against it; Mars was nice enough. Unpopulated for the most part, and was the stepping stone for the humans jetting off into space… but Mars was red. Same as another planet he'd lost, and that brought back too many memories he didn't need to think about.

"About half an hour," he said as Rose shot him a confused look, wondering why he'd fallen so silent. A smile played on his mouth and his eyes were a little distant; he wasn't thinking in the present, that was for sure, and she could see it written on his face how much he was preoccupied by something- someone- else. "Then the planet gets roasted."

Rose nodded to herself, storing the information away for later. She'd noticed it with Kia, too, how both the brunette and the Doctor could be having a quiet conversation about the most normal thing and they'd forget anything outside their duo existed. Rose hadn't missed the way the Doctor's face had crumpled with concern when Kia's strange illness forced her to retire. "Is that why we're here then?" she asked smoothly, easily covering the slight pang of jealousy she felt at seeing their closeness. Rose despaired of ever being as close to Kia or the Doctor as they were to one another. "Is this what you do? Jump in at the last minute and save the Earth?"

He shook his head and her hope faded. She'd been almost looking for an adventure… not that just standing there wasn't adventure enough, it was just… too still. "Not this time," he seemed a little pensive as he said it, shrugging in his leather jacket. "Time's up."

"But what about the people?" her voice had risen half an octave with sudden panic. He liked that her concern showed through and quietly gave her points… not that he was scoring her ability to be a companion in his head. Not at all.

"All gone, out there," he pointed up, to the glass roof, and the billions of stars blinking in the sky. He did not think about the fact that almost half of those lights were already dead. Rose followed the trajectory of his finger, her eyes wide as she calculated the possibilities in her mind. He smirked again, a twisted expression that was just a little bit proud. If there was one species in the universe he had unofficially adopted to replace his own- nothing ever truly could, but he could attempt to fill the void- it would be humans.

"Just me, then," Rose whispered. The comment wasn't meant for his ears but he heard it regardless and… it irritated him. He wanted to rant and scream and shout and tell her that she was _not _alone, she'd never know _alone _like he did. _Alone _was his best friend, his only constant; she might be the only human in the immediate area, but there were hundreds of billions of her kind spread out across the universe. He was one. _One. _That's it. Rose Tyler, the Doctor thought darkly, you have no idea what _just me _means.

Abruptly, his thoughts turned to the girl he'd left sleeping in his TARDIS, and just like that his darkness boiled away to a low simmer. He could never tame it fully, and it surprised him to realise that Kia had helped. Does help. The thought of her- the smile, the way she knew exactly what buttons to press to get him to smile, to laugh, to calm down- cheered him. _Just me _was coming to an end for him, he could almost taste it. The low hum of the watch- the hum that had always been there, the hum he'd convinced himself was a trick of the mind, a leftover echo of the long dead- was reassuring because it meant his days of being alone were gone.

Leading a life like his was dangerous, and he knew the universe would stop at nothing to try and tear the possibility of his happiness away. He knew there would be species and planets and orders to hunt Kia down and take her from his side.

Glaring out at the boiling sun, the Doctor's mouth set in a hard line.

Let them try.

Just let them.

-[-]-

I don't know how long I slept, but it wasn't fifteen hours. No way. I glanced at the clock and groaned; it had been barely twenty minutes. I could hardly move as my body felt full of lead; my limbs weren't quite my own. I didn't know why I was _awake _in the first place. I'd been so exhausted and longing for a good long sleep that I'd actually intended to obey the Doctor and stay in bed for fifteen hours, then drink copious amounts of tea and bury myself in the pantry until he and Rose returned.

Twenty minutes was fine for a mid-adventure nap, but not for a post-connection recovery. Reluctantly, I tried to get up but my arms wouldn't support me. My legs wouldn't move. My head felt fuzzy as I lifted it from the pillow; and something whispered in the back of my mind. A voice, a familiar male voice, full of conviction and determination; the same voice that had jolted me from my slumber just moments ago.

_Let them try._

Doctor?

What was he doing? I hated being left out of anything and the nature of his thoughts only strengthened my belief that there was some serious fun going on out there. If only I could move, I'd go straight to his side. Ha. That was unlikely to happen. I could barely lift my head without the room spinning and my limbs screaming in protest. Serves me right for using the watch more than I should… I did bring this upon myself. How had he broken through the suppression field, anyway? This wasn't the first time I'd heard him accidentally, but that suppression field should have kept this room invasion free.

His psychic ability increased with his emotions; to break through the TARDIS' defences, and the extra ones surrounding my room _and _my mind… I didn't want to think how strong his emotions must be. Having two hearts meant he felt everything double; my mother's bedtime story had claimed the same, though some Time Lords had tried to curb their emotions. The Doctor had never been able to- he still let his hearts rule his head sometimes.

Suddenly, an idea occurred to me. The TARDIS interior existed outside the planes of time and space, in its' own relative dimensions in space. She could control the flow of time inside her, though she really only did so to speed up her rebuilding times and she'd need a few days to recalibrate. Could she localise that ability for one room, perhaps? If I went back to sleep now… could she speed up time in my room, putting me into the future, so I could get out of here sooner?

"Old Girl?" I whispered to the room at large. My lights flickered on and off again, a sign she was listening. She liked to play with the lights when she tried to talk; I wanted to learn Morse Code to see if she could communicate like that. Probably could, if she wanted to. "Please?" was all I said. My body was dragging me under again and my eyes were growing heavier by the second.

She didn't need me to explain what I wanted; she knew. She always knew what I was thinking, though she rarely took notice unless it was related to her.

My lights flickered again and I smiled as my mind slipped away from my control, and sleep took the place of conscious thoughts.

-[-]-

"_Would the owner of a blue box in private gallery fifteen please report to the Steward's office immediately. All guests are reminded that the use of teleportation devices is strictly prohibited under Peace Treaty five point four slash cup slash sixteen. Thank you."_

Rose glanced up at the Doctor as he stood abruptly, a slight note of worry crossing his face. He knew they couldn't get into the TARDIS. That didn't stop them from taking her- and _Kia- _away. "Wait here," he said to Rose, who shrugged and nodded as if to say; _where would I go?_

He hurried along the corridor, briefly glancing into the main observation deck to find Jabe, the bark-skinned woman from the Forest of Cheam, talking animatedly into her communicator. He frowned slightly, remembering how she'd taken his picture. Had she taken more than that, by chance? What reason would she have for doing so? None, he reasoned, and continued on. The TARDIS was far more important anyway.

The Doctor didn't knock as he entered the Steward's office, startling the blue man into dropping the phone on his desk. He cleared his throat and was about to say something confronting when the Doctor flashed the psychic paper. "Where's the box?" he asked sharply, eyes narrowed. The Steward stood, smoothed his jacket down, and walked through the door.

"We are relocating-"

"_What?" _the Doctor snapped, a little startled.

The Steward regarded him with placating eyes and sighed a little. "Your box will be safe, Sir Doctor, I assure you. We are simply taking precautions to shield it from sun damage."

The Doctor wanted to tell him where they could stick their precautions. The TARDIS didn't need protection; she could do that herself. The sun might fade her paint a little, but it wouldn't have any hope of doing real damage. But he stayed silent, practising a new skill he'd decided to work on this week called self-control. "Where are you taking h- it?" he asked instead, forcibly calm.

A smile blossomed on the Steward's face though he didn't look happy in the slightest. It was the kind of smile that long-suffering servants of the rich and famous perfected over their years of service. The Doctor admired their patience; he'd snap in the first day. He'd make a horrible medical doctor too, come to think of it. Like that Earth program Kia had shown him a few weeks ago, that Doctor House. Hugh Laurie. The Doctor would be like him. All grumpy and surly and impatient and frustrated with the liars and idiots.

"To the docking station," the Steward indicated a set of titanium doors with the words printed in seven different languages, not one of them from Earth. From behind them, somebody gave a curse and something hit the wall with a thud. The Doctor's face tightened and he turned, arms folded, quietly telling himself that now was not the appropriate time nor place for a diva strop. The TARDIS could handle a knock or two, she was Gallifreyan in origin… but it wasn't the TARDIS he was solely concerned for. "Your box will be safe, sir, under constant surveillance and monitoring. Any changes and we will alert you immediately."

Six people arrived around the corner, the TARDIS carried between them. The Doctor could feel the indignant aura radiating from within the ship and grinned broadly at the back of the blue box. He could imagine that, if she could talk, she'd be telling him in no uncertain terms just what to do with himself behind closed doors. "Oi, now, careful with that," he called, grinning to himself. "Park her properly! No scratches!"

One of the attendants placed a card in his hands before they all scurried away, the docking station doors whooshing shut behind them. The Doctor glanced down, rolling his eyes at the well-wishing, and considered briefly going to check on Kia. She'd wake up if he went to her, he knew. She couldn't sleep when people were watching her, a fact she had often repeated when he, in a fit of sentimentality, peeked through her door in the middle of the night.

Turning back to the gallery, he knocked once on the door before pushing it open. "Rose? You in there?" He had told her to stay put, but it was rare companions- even new ones- listened. To his surprise, Rose was still sitting exactly where he'd left her, and she didn't look up as he sat alongside her. "Aye, aye, what d'you think then?" he nodded at the wide window before them, but he wasn't exactly meaning it. He meant the travelling, the aliens, the lifestyle.

"Great, yeah," she replied quickly, her tone a little rushed. "Fine… once you get past the slightly psychic paper…" she paused again, a little frown appearing on her face. The Doctor hid a smile and waited for the inevitable meltdown that was sure to come. "They're just so alien! The aliens… are so alien! You look at 'em…" she took a deep breath as he struggled not to laugh; "and they're _alien."_

"Good thing I didn't take you to the Deep South," he muttered, only half joking. She'd fit right in, in the Deep South of Nebulon Five. One of the only purist human colonies left in the universe, a little strong-hold of close-minded, old-fashioned homo sapiens who still persecuted and hunted anything that didn't look human.

"Where are you from?" Rose asked suddenly.

The Doctor paused, half considering telling her… but why? What was the point? "All over," he replied vaguely, shrugging.

She nodded once but didn't look satisfied. "They all speak English."

He winced a little, thinking that he probably should have warned her about this before she asked. "No, you just hear English. It's a gift from the TARDIS. The telepathic field gets inside your brain and translates." Abruptly, he pictured a little wriggling yellow fish, the Babelfish, and an old acquaintance who had been less than impressed at having one in his brain. Poor old Arthur. Good bloke, him.

"It's inside my brain?" Rose repeated, her face twisting in a little frown of panic.

"Well, in a good way."

She glared, her eyes narrowed at him. The Doctor could practically see steam coming out her ears and a feminine, familiar voice in the back of his head whispered _you're being rude again. _He ignored it. "Your machine gets inside my head. It gets inside and it changes my mind, and you didn't even ask?" Rose demanded shrilly, frustrated and angry.

He winced apologetically. "I didn't think about it like that," he admitted slowly, shrugging. Nothing he could do about it now.

"No, you were too busy thinking up cheap shots about the Deep South. Who are you, then, Doctor? What are you called? What sort of alien are you?"

The questions shot at him quick-fire and with each demand for answers, he felt his willingness to supply them diminish. His eyes glittered at Rose and he folded his arms stubbornly. "I'm just the Doctor," he replied firmly, hoping his tone would be enough to discourage further questioning.

Of course, Rose didn't know him well enough to read his silent cues. "From what planet?" she snapped.

"Well, it's not as if you'll know where it is!" he shot back, frustration boiling over.

"Where are you from?" Rose shouted, on her feet now.

He joined her angrily. "What does it matter?"

"Tell me who you are!"

He whirled away from her, pacing away before turning back with dark, furious eyes, silently willing the darkness in his head to go away. He'd scare her if he kept this up, if he showed her what he truly was- a vengeful monster- this early, he knew he'd lose her. "This is who I am, right here, right now, alright?" he hissed, his voice forcibly softer than a shout. "All that counts is here and now, and this is me!" Oh, did he know that better than most. That here and now were more valuable than then and when, because then was gone and when might never come. Here and now was something he could see, touch, hold, something he could save and protect. He couldn't go back to save what happened _then. _He couldn't guarantee that _when _would be safe, either. All he had was here and now and he couldn't afford to live in the past or future.

"Yeah, and I'm here too because you brought me here!" Rose exclaimed, her tone lost the anger but keeping the curious urgency. She wanted answers. "So just tell me!"

He was about to, he really was. He was about to bite out the name of his planet and describe to her in angry, grief-stricken words just how it had been lost to him. He was about to describe the Time War in blow-by-bloody-blow detail just to watch the realisation on her face.

"_Earth Death in twenty minutes. Earth Death in twenty minutes."_

The computer announcement saved Rose from hearing it. The interruption gave them three seconds to calm down and cool off, Rose deflating first as he stormed to the window and glared out of it. "Alright," Rose said quietly, heaving a tense sigh that did nothing to calm her nerves. She didn't want to be stuck here at the end of the world and while she didn't think the Doctor would do that to her… she didn't want to push him too far. "As my mate Shareen says, don't argue with the designated driver." Her phone materialised in her hand and he glanced down at it, at her, as she lit up the screen and saw the reception counter at zero. He felt a little apologetic then, sorry for having shouted at her. She was only human. She was new, it was natural that she was curious. "Can't exactly call for a taxi…" she said, ever so quietly, and her hands trembled slightly. "No signal. We're out of range…" she looked back up at the tiny Earth orbiting by the dying sun, her face a mask of concern and worry. "Just a bit."

The Doctor relented, forgiving her for being pushy and grabbing for his sonic. The poor girl deserved a break; he had whisked her away from home straight to the end of her world, after all. Culture shock; it happened to everyone. "Tell you what," he said, grabbing the phone and pulling off the back. "With a little bit of jiggery pokery…"

She started to smile. "Is that a technical term, jiggery pokery?"

"Yeah, I came first in jiggery pokery. What about you?" he asked, eyebrows rising as she smiled and he couldn't help but smile back, putting the tension behind them.

"Nah, failed hullabaloo," she grinned, a tiny strip of pink tongue poking out between her teeth.

He grinned at her and handed the phone back, nodding in satisfaction. "There you go," he said, stepping away so she could phone home and calm down. Give the girl a bit of space.

Lost in his thoughts, he watched Earth rotate below him, smiling when Europe came into view and he could point out the UK, imagining the lives of busy little humans buzzing around the familiar streets. He imagined Rose Tyler getting up and going to work every day, until the day the plastic came alive and nearly killed her. He imagined her going home, eating chips, going to bed, starting all over again. How dull. He imagined Kia Pullman heading to her little bakery job, tending the cakes and slipping bits of broken biscuits into her mouth or the hands of little children, just to see them smile. He imagined her going to the library to study, slaving away over books and dreaming of something to break the monotony. He imagined her returning to her dark, lonely little flat and spending her evenings alone in front of the telly.

The Doctor frowned. He didn't like to think of Kia being alone, especially not now that she'd never be so again. He knew her mother died when she was eleven, she was in and out of homes until she was eighteen and her inheritance- the flat, a small sum of money- came through. The girl had been so used to looking out for herself that it still surprised him how selfless she was… especially when it came to someone like him. There were times when Kia would do something brilliant and kind and he'd look at her, feeling unworthy of her.

"… fine." Rose's voice jolted him back to reality and he turned back to face her, forcing his thoughts away. "Top of the world…" the blonde hung up, looking a little shellshocked at what she'd just done.

He smiled wryly. "Think that was amazing… you want to see the bill."

Rose didn't seem to hear. "That was five billion years ago. So… she's dead now. Five billion years later, my mum's dead."

"Bundle of laughs you are," he muttered, trying to lighten her mood. The phone call home was supposed to make her _happy, _not sit there counting how many people she knew were dead. Five billion years was an eternity to the human race. He was about to make a comment along such lines when the room shuddered and shook, and his every effort went into keeping himself upright and making sure Rose stayed balanced. She fixed him with a panicked, questioning expression and the lines around his mouth tightened. "That's not supposed to happen."

-[-]-

I woke slightly groggy, but much more refreshed. My body was my own and my mind was clear; with my health replenished, I swung my legs over the side of the bed and rushed through a shower and clothing change. More corduroys, converse and checked shirts; my staple outfit. Comfortable and loose, perfect for lots of running. Which is what I did most. I paused before reaching the door, figuring that if my room was fifteen hours in the future, the rest of the TARDIS was still in the past. Would stepping through a temporal shift like that hurt? Unbalance me?

It didn't matter. I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and leapt into the hallway. It felt like jumping into freezing water, as my breath was knocked out of my lungs and my knees buckled upon landing. I hit the wall and slid down, taking a moment or two to recover my breath and equilibrium. A few deep breaths brought be back to rights again and I stood up, running a hand along the wall as I headed for the doors. The TARDIS hummed comfortingly as I moved through the hallways; my room was much deeper in the ship's matrix and I thanked her for the trouble she'd gone through just for me.

I emerged into the empty console room, glancing around to see that nothing had changed. The scanner blinked at me and I switched it on, seeing a collection of ships outside the TARDIS doors and figuring I was in a docking station of some sort. I had no idea of the date, our location, or what I'd find outside, but I fully intended to find out. Using the scanner, I replayed the last half an hour or so of footage, watching the Doctor give demands to six people who'd moved us manually- cheeky git- before grinning and winking at the TARDIS herself. Something sparked in irritation on the other side of the console and I petted her comfortingly.

"I know, Old Girl," I murmured, the panel growing warm beneath my palm. It had taken me a long time to figure out her nonverbal signals, but now that I had- and when I paid attention- she and I were able to almost talk. "I'll bring him back for dinner, don't worry."

My hand reached for the button to switch off the screen, but I paused at the last second as something scuttled across it. A group of what looked like mechanical spiders darted across our field of vision and disappeared into the maintenance ducts; I frowned. What the hell were they doing, sneaking around like that? Suspicious little buggers. Shrugging, I headed for the doors and locked up behind me, tucking the key and my watch safely below my shirt.

I had no idea where to start looking for my mad alien, but things seemed calm enough to not have me worrying. Yet. As my fingers brushed the 'open' panel and the docking station doors whooshed open- I'd been right before, I was in a docking station, which probably meant I was at the bottom of the ship- something rumbled and the entire room shook.

I grabbed the wall in panic, keeping myself upright. "That's not good," I said aloud, sparing a last smile for the TARDIS before darting through the open door and hurrying along the corridor. I took random turns and went up two flights of stairs, still having no idea where I was going but hoping that in becoming lost, I'd find where I was meant to be. I had to grab the wall as the ship shook again, and got a good glance out a nearby window. The view took my breath away.

Earth orbited a few hundred miles away, right in front of the expanded, point-of-exploding sun. The star I'd attributed with giving life all my years now looked angry and dangerous; I didn't need more than a few seconds to know where the Doctor had brought us. To the end of the world. I glanced down at my phone, thankful at least to see that the date wasn't one anywhere near to my home time. I was relieved that at least we were so far away; it meant the Earth wasn't in need of saving. Her time was up. I pressed a hand against the glass and gave my planet a sad little nod, a final farewell, before voices caught my ear from a hallway ahead.

Approaching cautiously, I peered around and grinned in relief at the sight of a familiar leather jacket. He wasn't with Rose, but I figured she was safe enough if he'd left her somewhere. A bark-skinned woman stood behind him and I quietly stepped nearer, probably being more sneaky than I intended. A cloud of smoke and a babble of blue-skinned people gathered around a door, every single one of their backs to me.

As I drew near, I could smell barbeque, though it was _off _in a way I'd hoped to never smell again.

"Is the Steward in there?" the bark-skinned woman asked quietly.

The Doctor didn't look up as he replied; "You can smell him."

"Oh, God," I said before I could help myself, a hand shooting up to cover my mouth and nose to try and stop myself from being sick. I didn't look at the tree-like creature behind the Doctor, or even at the man himself, though he'd flung his arms around me and dragged me in for a bone-crushing hug.

"Kia!" he exclaimed, tone half amused, half angry. I knew he'd pick up on the fact that I wasn't supposed to be around yet.

"Last time I checked," I groaned, prying myself loose.

He shook his head, giving me a glare while hiding a smile- he'd pretend to be mad until he was blue in the face, but I knew he was glad to see me. Saving the world is so much easier when you're not alone. "I said fifteen hours! This… this isn't fifteen hours!" he cried.

I nodded, checking the time. It had barely been forty minutes since they'd left the TARDIS. "I asked the TARDIS to accelerate time in my room. I can't go in there for two days while she recalibrates."

"What'd you do that for, then? Miss me that much?" he was grinning now, pleased to see me, and I let him hug me again.

"Hardly," I scoffed, as I poked his stomach and pulled away. "I knew I couldn't leave you alone without something going wrong! And look! I was right!" I gestured at the hallway at large, ignoring the stares and questioning glances sent our way. The bark-skinned woman looked most curious of all and I saw her gaze dart between me and the Doctor several times.

"Shut up, this isn't my fault!" he snapped back quickly, but there was no malice in his tone, only light teasing.

This was the way for us; we never let things get serious when there was danger about. No point in starting a fight between _us _if we'd need to be united in the face of trouble. "You'rean intergalactic trouble-magnet!" I retorted, poking his cheek as he caught my hand.

The ship rocked again, the metal groaning, and we all piled against the wall. The Doctor's arm cushioned my head and his mouth was in a thin, displeased line.

"That's not good," I said aloud. I'd gone pale, I know I had, because I felt sort of giddy with a mixture of fear and adrenaline. It was a good feeling, though when adventures first started I could take a while to get caught up in the excitement. "And where've you put Rose?"

"Rose? Oh, she's around… somewhere…" he said, distracted. He nudged me forward and we walked, the tree-woman behind us. He still hadn't introduced us… rude, but I let it go. We both stopped as a computer panel on a door beeped, the two of us peering at it.

"Another sun-filter is descending," the Doctor read aloud.

"Rose," I said instantly. If trouble had found us here, then she was most likely to be targeted because of her association with us. "Right, I'll go find her, you go save the world," I said, already heading off to find the source of the trouble. If I could save one life today… well, it might make up for the lives we could still lose.

"Kia!" the Doctor called urgently, meeting my gaze with a no-nonsense one of his own. He looked like he was about to say something else, but thought better of it at the last minute and handed me the sonic screwdriver. "You'll need this."

"I should get my own," I joked, watching the worry leave his eyes as he pulled me close for a good luck hug. We never separated without one. "See you for dinner, Mister," I said firmly, giving him no option but to adhere to my demand. I skipped backwards for a couples steps before spinning on my heel and running off. I had no idea where Rose was, but that wasn't going to stop me finding her. The viewing platform was full of people- well, alien people- and I found the friendliest-looking one… and then I found someone else. "Boe," I whispered, making a beeline for the big old face in a glass jar. I'd met him once or twice before, only briefly, but he'd seemed to know the Doctor and me very well. That fact alone made him far more approachable than say- was that the Moxx of Balhoon? Spitty little thing.

_Kiarna._

I jumped, my mind instantly firming up until the voice inside it registered and I forced myself to relax, slipping to my knees in front of the big glass case. The Face of Boe looked tired, older than I'd seen him last, and it made me wonder just how much he'd seen. He scared me, sometimes, just because he gave off the impression that he knew me better than I knew myself. "Hello, Facey," I replied with a smile, placing a hand on the glass. Boe drifted towards it for a moment before his old, tired milky eyes met mine.

_For a moment, I feared he had left you behind._

I laughed, shaking my head. "Surely you know better?"

Boe rumbled intelligibly, what passed for a laugh from him. _When one has lived as long as I… one takes nothing for granted._

I winced a little, thoughts going to the Doctor. He'd once said the same thing to me, and at the time I hadn't thought much of it. The more I repeated those words in my head, the more my heart broke for him. "Have you met Rose?" I asked, changing the subject to something lighter, something more urgent. The Doctor and I, and the nature of our relationship, could wait. Rose was important here.

_Rose… Tyler. _Boe seemed to smile, his mouth quirking ever so slightly. A normal person, or someone who hadn't met him before, would hardly notice the action, but I did and I didn't miss the brief look of sadness that crossed his face. _That is a name I have not heard in a very long time… she was here, with him… I do not know where she is now._

"Right," I nodded, a little concerned now. She seemed like the smart type. She wouldn't rush off somewhere, do something impulsive, would she? The moment the thought crossed my mind, I was shaking my head and standing up. The Doctor and I shared one thing in common- we were prone to do stupid, selfless things with no regards to our personal safety if it meant saving lives. We'd picked Rose because both of us saw that same spark in her; to that conclusion, she definitely _would _rush off somewhere, or do something impulsive.

Boe chuckled in my head as he sensed my thoughts change. I often forgot that mind-reading was a two way street; if he could put his thoughts in my head, I could put mine in his without even trying. _I see your future in you, Kiarna, even now I can see your future._

"Thanks, Facey," I simply said, ignoring the mysterious mention of my future. Usually I'd be leaping all over it, desperate for information… but I'd made the decision long ago, in an underground secret facility called Torchwood, to just let my life play out the way it was meant to. Jack Harkness' face sprang to mind and he was the figure in which I placed every bit of faith in my continued existence. If hadn't met Jack yet, I wasn't going to die. "You take care of yourself, mate," I petted the case and hurried off.

I was too slow in closing down my mind, and the Face of Boe gave me one last parting shot. _We should have danced to a longer song. _Dancing? Why did that ring a bell? The only person I'd ever discussed dancing with was Jack Harkness… I wanted to turn around and demand answers… but the curtains were drawn over the Face of Boe's case and the computer was announcing that the sun shields were going down. And I hadn't found Rose yet.

Gripping the sonic tighter in my hands, I gritted my teeth and stored Boe's mysterious comment away in some dark corner of my mind, in the same place as the Girl from the Library and my visit to Torchwood. I'd think about all of it later… though it was doubtful I ever would.


	6. The End of the World

**Six: End of the World**

I sprinted through the corridors at random, feet pounding the concrete floors. _"Rose!" _I hollered outside every closed door, opening them to check the rooms within. Empty. Every single damn one was empty. "Rose Tyler!" I held the sonic out, opening the doors before I reached them, making my search as quick as possible. A sun filter was descending somewhere along this corridor- I didn't know how long it took to go down, and didn't want to entertain the possibility that I would be too late. "ROSE!"

"Oh, God, yes! I'm here! Let me out!" Rose screamed back, sounding very close. Two doors down, a control panel sparked under the sonic's pressure and I made a beeline for it, skidding to a stop and working on opening the doors as quickly as possible. "Kia! _Please!" _Rose shouted, panicked and obviously terrified. My heart hammered in my chest and my brain hurt as I struggled to work faster. "Let me out!"

"Hold your horses a sec!" I shouted back, giving the computer one last triumphant slap.

_Sun filter rising._

"Aha!" I cried, arms folded as I waited for the filter to rise high enough to let the doors open. Rose laughed with relief inside the room and my grin widened; frankly, I couldn't wait to go racing after the Doctor, but I wouldn't leave her until I knew she was safe.

_Sun filter descending._

My smile faded and Rose gave an audible squeak. "Kia!"

"I know!" I cried, leaping back to the computer, my bottom lip pulled between my teeth. "Give me two ticks!" I worried my lip as a distraction from the flood of panic making my chest uncomfortably tight. The computer was fighting back, every move I made was undone as soon as I moved on; I'd never worked with something so sophisticated before.

I could see the sunlight bursting through the top of the door and grit my teeth hard.

_Sun filter rising._

I beamed at it triumphantly, though I really should have known better. Since when was anything that easily fixed?

_Sun filter descending._

"Stop mucking about!" Rose shouted from the other side. A litany of curses filled my mind and I kicked the wall in frustration, flinching at the pain.

"I'm not!" I snapped, hurrying to stop whatever the hell was messing with the computer systems. Through the crack in the not-quite-sealed doors, I could see a thin line of sunlight escaping and scorching the wall behind me. It was this I used to mentally calculate how long Rose had to live; in that moment, I wasn't thinking like the compassionate human I usually was, but as a detached bystander.

Compartmentalising was a blissful thing, sometimes.

"The lock's melted!"

I heard Rose's faint cry and it only made me work harder, faster, to try and get her out of there. If I could only open the doors, maybe she could crawl out before she was singed? "Come on," I muttered, teeth grinding and sonic whirring.

_Sun filter descending… sun filter rising…_

Without a second thought, I disabled the controls for the door, regretting leaving Rose locked away but knowing she'd be safer in there than anywhere else. Without a computer attached to this room, the sun filter couldn't be touched, so she'd at least be safe from that. "The whole thing's jammed," I lied through the door, hearing her sob dryly on the other side. "I can't get you out. Just… stay there!"

"Where am I gonna go? Ipswich?!" she retorted. I snickered and knocked twice on the door, hoping it would be fortified enough to keep her safe. Safer than the rest of the ship, in any case.

"Don't move!" I said, one last warning, before turning on my heels to find the Doctor. There was nothing more I could do for Rose; in order to save her, we'd have to save the entire platform. Brilliant; more lives saved the better.

_Earth death in five minutes._

I quickened my pace, hurrying back towards the observation platform and where I knew the rest of the guests would be. Jogging through the corridors, I retraced my steps back past the Steward's office and to the main guests' entry doors. They whooshed open at my approach and I smiled as a familiar voice rang out.

"Five billion years and it still comes down to money," the Doctor said, disgusted and disappointed. I hovered near the back of the room, standing beside the Moxx of Balhoon's attendants. In the middle of the room, the Doctor faced down a sheet of stretched out skin with a face; despite myself, I had to suppress a giggle. Of all the intimidating monsters and villains we'd thwarted together… a talking trampoline didn't make it onto the list of Things That Scare Kia.

"Do you think it's cheap, looking like this?" the trampoline asked, aghast. Well, I imagine she'd be aghast, if she had a proper face to portray those emotions with. "Flatness costs a fortune. I am the last human, Doctor. Not that freaky little kid of yours."

"Arrest her, the infidel!" the Moxx shouted beside me.

"Oh, shut it, pixie. I've still got my final option," she sounded like she was gloating; I knew this part of the story very well, where they'd gloat and preen before the Doctor, boast and marvel at how wonderful they were for outsmarting the Time Lord… and then he and I would tear their plans to shreds. At least… I _hoped _it would happen that way.

_Earth death in three minutes._

The computerised announcement sent a chill through my spine as the dots connected for me; she planned to kill us all. We'd fry with Earth burned… "And here it comes. You're just as useful dead, all of you. I have shares in your rival companies and they'll triple in price as soon as you're dead. My spiders are primed and ready to destroy the safety systems. How did that old earth song go? _Burn, _baby, _burn!"_

The spiders. Those creepy little metal things. I'd spotted them in the docking station and had forgotten all about them; I had been planning on telling the Doctor. Bloody forgetful human mind! He might've figured this out sooner if I'd not forgotten!

"Then you'll burn with us!" a woman who looked like a walking tree stood beside the Doctor; I could see two more of her kind stand behind her. Not wanting to be left out, I stepped beside the Doctor and he glanced down at me; I nodded once, letting him know Rose was alright. He'd know that anyway; I'd never leave someone to die if I had a way of saving them.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Pancake-Face simpered. I wanted to punch her flat face. "I know the use of teleportation is strictly forbidden, but I'm _such _a naughty thing… spiders, activate." The platform rocked as explosions were set off throughout the ship, the room shuddered and I feared for a moment that the protective glass would crack and doom us all. "Forcefields gone with the planet about to explode. At least it'll be quick- just like my fifth husband. Oh, shame on me!"

_Safety systems failing._

"Bye, bye, darlings, bye, bye…" she faded out, blessedly, and I turned to the Doctor.

"What's the plan?" I asked, knowing he'd have to have one. He didn't stay silent for that long for nothing; he would have been formulating a million ways out of this situation and I knew he had something. His mouth twitched and he held his palm out flat; I placed the sonic within his grasp and he chucked me gently under the chin.

_Heat levels rising._

"Reset the computer!" the Moxx shrieked, panicking.

"Only the Steward would know how," said the tree-lady, her tone calm but her face afraid.

"No," the Doctor shook his head and headed towards the door. "We can do it by hand. There must be a system restore switch. Kia, Jabe, come on. You lot… just chill!"

I grinned and followed on his heels, Jabe a step behind. The three of us raced to the nearest entry to the maintenance duct, the sonic giving us a way in. The Doctor assumed the lead and I was right behind him, Jabe bringing up the rear. "What are you?" she asked me, her tone so quiet I assumed she didn't want the Doctor to hear. I wondered briefly how much she knew about him, before giving her a small smile.

"Almost human," I replied, deciding to use that whenever I needed to identify myself. Of course, I was technically _all _human, but the watch around my neck constantly reminded me that I wasn't fully _anything _anymore.

Jabe looked pensively at me and I looked away, not wanting to see the questions in her eyes. There was a whole kettle of fish I didn't particularly want to start sorting through when the world was about to explode.

_Earth death in two minutes._

_Heat levels critical._

The three of us emerged in the engine rooms, the Doctor and I scanning the walls to find that switch. He stopped short and I nearly walked into the back of him, following his line of sight. "Oh, of course," I huffed.

"Of course," the Doctor echoed, his voice low and irritated. Jabe shook her head and we approached the three cooling fans; I hoped that maybe they'd be on a cycle and we'd have time to jump through, if we calculated correctly.

No such luck.

_Heat levels rising._

"There's a breaker," Jabe noted, pulling it down. The fans slowed and instantly I started to sweat, giving the wooden woman a concerned look. There was no way she could withstand being down here for too long, not if the heat continued to rise. She'd burn easily.

"Why is it," I muttered as I shooed a reluctant, but ultimately obliging, Jabe out of the cooling room and grasped the lever, already feeling the hot get a little too hot- even for someone like me, who quite preferred heat over cold. "That whenever you say 'safe trip', it turns out to be 'save the world and pretend it's fun?'"

"What are you talking about?" the Doctor retorted, scoffing, throwing his head back and giving me a wink. "This is fun! Pull the lever, Kronk!" He faced the fans again and I did as he asked, the quote finally making it through my otherwise occupied mind and making me laugh breathlessly.

"Ha! That makes you Yzma!" He half-turned back towards me to respond, but changed his mind and hopped through the second fan as the computer called thirty seconds to Earth destruction, and began the ominous countdown. I held the lever down and stopped smiling, the skin on my hands starting to blister with the contact to the hot metal. Would he hurry up already! The countdown reached three... two...

Nothing. Not a sound- I still held the lever, my eyes watering with the strain of holding on, when he appeared beside me and placed his hands on my shoulders. "C'mon," he muttered, his tone darkening as his anger at the person responsible took over. Oh, that _tramp_ were so going to pay. I peeled my fingers away from the lever and gasped at the sight of them, burnt and raw and blistering already.

If Jabe had been holding that lever, she would have burned before he reached the switch. The Doctor covered my burns with his hands and I flinched at the pain, yanking them away and nodding to the door. "Allons-y," I murmured.

"What was that?" he held my sleeve, since he couldn't hold my hand, as they headed back for the viewing platform. "French, innit?"

"Mm," I hummed in confirmation, nodding. "Means 'let's go'."

"I'm gonna use that one day."

Snickering, I bumped his hip gently with mine. "Knock yourself out, Time Lord."

"Daresay I will at some point."

I gave him an incredulous look, but smiled anyway. He caught the motion and chucked me under the chin, his expression softening to the point where he looked almost sappy. Of all the emotions I'd seen cross the man's face, 'sappy' was the last one I'd expected. Nonetheless, it gave me an excuse to step closer and hug him awkwardly round the middle with one arm, as he hooked an arm across my shoulders. He didn't step away as we approached the observation deck.

I turned to step in front of him, tiredly nodding at the corridor behind us. "Rose," I mumbled, trying to ignore the pain spearing up my arms. My hands were throbbing and I could swear I heard them sizzling. "She's stuck. I'll go." The Doctor looked between me and the empty corridor, clearly not liking me going off on my own. He conceded after a moment of silent contemplation. I refused the sonic and headed off, walking backwards for two or three steps before spinning around.

I heard the doors open behind me and hurried to fetch Rose, hoping that as the shields were up the doors wouldn't be so bloody stubborn. Luck was apparently on my side and Rose looked up at me, crumpled on the floor with her tearstained face resting on her knees. "Kia?" she breathed, a disbelieving little question.

"Hi," I replied, nodding to the door. "Come on. It's over." Rose scrambled to her feet and rushed up to my side; I barely had time to blink before she threw her arms around me and hugged me tight. Eyes wide with surprise, I gingerly rested my wrists on her back. I hadn't expected such an outburst of emotion, especially since we'd barely had time to talk, but I guess she was just grateful to see someone she knew.

"I thought I was gonna die. The window- it cracked- the walls are all burnt and…" Rose cut herself off, walking beside me as I nodded towards the observation deck. I had a feeling we wouldn't want to miss the finale- I certainly had something to say. "Thanks for coming back," Rose whispered after a minute of silence.

I paused for a moment, shaking my head. "I- _we- _will never leave you behind, okay?" I promised her, stopping to give her a serious expression. I wanted to touch her, to reassure her with some form of physical contact- Rose reached to grab my hand, but I flinched away and gave her a small smile. "Best not, love. C'mon." She must have seen how my hands shook as I held them away from my body, careful not to touch anything I didn't have to. My elbows became my new hands, they opening every door for Rose and me.

"What happened to you?" she asked quietly.

My smile was only half pained, taking comfort in the fact that I might have been hurt, but Jabe was so very alive. "I saved a life," I replied, a little thrill shooting down my spine at those words. Nothing felt better than knowing it was a direct result of my actions that someone was still alive. Rose smiled at me and stepped ahead to open the door, holding it for me as I edged in beside her.

"Alright?" the Doctor asked, appearing by our side as if by magic. I nodded, giving him a wide smile. I always tried not to show him how bad things actually were; I couldn't feel my fingers, and the numbness was frankly a blessing after the burning pain they'd been in first. Satisfied that we were both alright, the Doctor turned to the room in general and clapped his hands. "Right, now, I'm full of ideas, bristling with them! Idea number one, teleportation through five thousand degrees needs some kind of feed. Idea number two, this feed must be hidden nearby." He danced over to an ostrich egg and smashed it, a little silver device slipping out and rolling on the floor.

"Brilliant," I heard Rose whisper, in absolute awe. I smiled fondly.

"Idea number three, if you're as clever as me-" the Doctor shot a grin in my direction and I winked in return, he paused for a moment to silently gloat at how wonderful he was- "- then the teleportation feed can be _reversed!" _And with a twist of his fingers, the feed started to whir and a shimmering blue field of light appeared in the middle of the room. From the light, a familiar and grating voice slowly materialised. "Oh, you should have seen their little alien-" the so-called Last Human reappeared, the smirk slowly slipping from her face. "Oh…"

"Welcome back, trampoline twit," I smiled, waving with a huge sarcastic smile.

"The last human," the Doctor greeted; his tone was calm but his face was hard, unforgiving.

Cassandra's flat face looked slightly panicky, as well she should. "So, you passed my little test. Bravo. This makes you eligible to join, um, the human club!"

"People have _died, _Cassandra. You murdered them," the Doctor snapped, no nonsense.

"It depends on your definition of people, and that's enough of a technicality to keep your lawyers busy for centuries," Cassandra retorted, haughty and smug. "Take me to court, then, Doctor, and watch me smile and cry and flutter-

"And creak?" I asked, spotting the cracks in her framework. I tried not to smirk as I joined the Doctor, standing side-by-side instead of hovering behind him.

Cassandra had stopped, and her eyes widened. "And what?" she asked, confused. She gave me a look that said she thought I was thick, until the Doctor cocked a false grin at her.

"Creak," he repeated, smile on his face but his eyes still cold. "You're creaking."

"What?" Cassandra kept quiet and sure enough, her skin started to creak. Even with so little a face, she still managed to look terrified. "I'm drying out! Oh, sweet heavens. Moisturise me! It's too hot!"

"Don't play with fire if you can't stand the heat," I muttered, just loud enough for her to hear me. Neither myself nor the Doctor had any sympathy; I quashed the guilt before it could arise, lowering my eyes to stare resolutely at the floor. If I couldn't see her, I could pretend this wasn't happening. This woman was responsible for many deaths, and almost killed Jabe and Rose.

"Have pity! Have mercy! Oh, Doctor, I'm sorry, I'll do anything!" Cassandra pleaded. "Moisturise me!" she wailed, creaking louder now as she contracted, her taunt skin becoming tighter and tighter. The Doctor watched her with a sort of blank expression, and Rose stepped forward to grasp his sleeve loosely.

"Help her," she said softly, and I glanced up from my feet, ashamed to realise that I hadn't thought of helping the thing almost responsible for the murder of all these people. Peaceful companion indeed...

The Doctor shook Rose off, his eyes cold and hard- "Everything has it's time," he ground out, and I shivered at his tone. This wasn't like him. I had been travelling with him long enough now, had gone through enough horror with him, to know what kind of man he was. And this was not it. Cassandra gave one last gut-curdling scream before she exploded and Rose flinched while I closed my eyes, turning bodily away from the bloody remains of the Last Human.

Without a word, the Doctor stormed off deeper into the ship- probably looking out for any more spiders- and Rose looked at me with a trembling lip. "I'll sort him out," I murmured, nodding to the Doctor. "Watch the show, love. It'll be gone soon enough." Rose looked outside and was almost shocked to see that the Earth had exploded already, and stepped closer to the viewing platform to watch it disintegrate.

I, not caring to watch my own planet burn from space, satisfied myself that Rose was safe enough before darting through the same door the Doctor had just taken. I spotted him rounding a corner on the other end of the hall and ran after him, skidding to a halt as I found him sitting against the wall with his head in his hands. He didn't look up as I appeared, instead he simply held up his hand, wriggling his fingers in that same old invitation, a silent plea of _please don't leave me_ and _I need you now _rolled in one.

Forgetting the burns, and despite the pain, I took the offered limb and sat beside him, resting my head on his shoulder. "I'm still with you," I murmured, and he held me closer still, his breathing ragged and his eyes squeezed tightly shut.

We stayed put as we listened to the computer announcing various departures- I realised a little regretfully that I hadn't said goodbye to Jabe. The computer announced it was shutting the platform down for maintenance; we took that as our cue to leave. "Let's go home," the Doctor muttered. I nodded and let him help me to my feet, taking a moment or two to get the feeling back in my legs. Our hands detached, thankfully, and I made a mental note to get the nanogenes in the Zero Room to fix me back up again. The skin was red and puffy, the blisters forming over my palms and between my fingers. I couldn't make a fist if I tried, not without bleeding.

"I'm sorry," the Doctor muttered, spotting the injury and trying to place his hands on mine. I yanked them away and gave him a small smile.

"It's not as bad as it looks," I replied, leading the way back to the observation gallery, where Rose had thankfully stayed put. I didn't feel up to scouring the ship looking for her.

The window was wide open and beyond it, lumps of rock and burning gas flew by, the sun imploding in on itself and dragging the remains of Earth into the black hole. Rose stood a foot away from the glass, her arms around herself. The Doctor and I drew up either side of her, saying nothing as we waited for her to say something. Would she want to stay, now that she'd experienced the kind of lifestyle we did? She'd been through the Autons with us, but that was on Earth. I'm not sure Rose really understood that it wasn't all travelling and fun.

"The end of the Earth," she started, quiet and teary. "It's gone. We were too busy saving ourselves. No one saw it go… all those years, all that history, and no one was even looking… it's just…"

The Doctor turned to look at her, recognising the sadness of her tone. She might have had a planet to go home to, where he didn't, but the grief she felt for it _now _was so poignant and real. His gaze met mine over the top of her head, and I tried to give him a reassuring smile.

"Come with me," he murmured, leading us both back to the TARDIS. With deft movements, he set our course and I led Rose to the kitchen, where she made herself a cup of tea and I ducked out to find the Zero Room. "Kia," the Doctor called, and I turned at the doorway to raise an eyebrow, longing to get my agonising hands fixed up. He stopped beside me and pulled me into a tight hug, the two of us just standing there for a moment or two. "Thank you for Jabe," he mumbled into my hair.

Not knowing what to say, I just nestled closer and listened to the comforting double-heartbeat, a rhythm I would never get sick of hearing. I sort of longed to hear it in my own body, as far away as that goal was.

The Doctor stepped back, giving me a small smile. "I'm going to take Rose home for a bit. You coming?"

"Yeah," I grinned, and he turned to fetch our companion while I let the nanogenes fix my hands. Within moments of stepping inside, the skin was healed and the scars faded, like nothing had ever happened. Healed and slightly hungry, I hurried back to the console room and tagged along as the three of us headed out into the busy morning traffic of London.

A mother and her baby rushed by, the baby crying out with displeasure. A man to our left laughed loudly, and a woman ahead spoke into her phone at a mile a minute. Standing still in the middle of the crowd, we let them wash around us like the waves of the ocean. "You think it'll last forever, people and cars and concrete, but it won't. One day it's all gone. Even the sky," the Doctor began quietly. "My planet's gone. It's dead. It burned like the Earth; it's just rocks and dust before its' time."

Rose looked up, concerned. "What happened?"

My thoughts turned to the Time War, and I had to close my eyes for a second to banish the imaginary thoughts, the memories I wasn't sure were real. Sometimes, a side effect of being controlled by the watch were memories and thoughts placed in my mind that weren't my own; some of them, like seeing myself as a little girl, or the happy thoughts of my younger mother, were a joy. The others… the war and the fear and the screaming… not so much. I hadn't even _been _there and it haunted me.

I hated to think of what the Doctor carried with him. As if reading my thoughts, he reached for my hand and I gave it willingly, watching him smile as he realised my skin was back to normal, all signs of injury gone. "There was a war and we lost," he said to Rose, explaining the Time War in the simplest way he knew.

"A war with who? What about your people? Are you…" Rose looked at me, the question dying on her lips.

"I was born on Earth," I replied, to the Doctor's nod of confirmation.

"I'm a Time Lord," he said, "I'm the last of the Time Lords. They're all gone. I'm the only survivor. I'm left travelling on my own because there's no-one else… except you," he hurried to add, squeezing my hand lightly. Not for the first time, I felt a pang of guilt over that long-ago fight, back when I'd barely known him and the war had just been a story to me.

"You're a Time Lord?" Rose asked me, eyebrows raised.

I shook my head. "No," I replied honestly; "I'm complicated."

She let the subject drop as she looked at us both at large. "You've got me," she announced, and I couldn't help but beam at her. The Doctor's smile widened, but it was a sad expression in his eyes as he looked at Rose seriously.

"You've seen how dangerous it is. Do you want to go home?" he asked.

My smile faded and I silently begged her to say no, to declare that she was staying with us. It was a complete turnaround for me, to go from being reluctant of her company to almost craving it. Another woman, another _human, _to talk to would be fantastic. The Doctor had said to me once that travelling always seemed better through someone else's eyes, because he got to watch them light up with excitement and joy. I wanted to see in Rose what he saw in me, I guess.

"I don't know," Rose replied honestly, genuinely thinking hard about her decision. "I want…" her eyes widened, softening at the edges, and she took a deep breath. "Can you smell chips?"

My next breath bore the smell to me and I nodded. "Oh yes," I smiled, my stomach growling.

"I want chips," Rose grinned, her tongue poking out between her teeth. I nodded eagerly, already looking for the source of that smell.

"Me too," the Doctor announced, pointing to a shop across the street with the door wide open.

"Right then," Rose continued, still grinning, "Before you get me back in that box, chips it is, and you can pay."

I giggled before I could help myself, poking the Doctor in the ribs. "No money," I answered for him, petting my pocket. "C'mon, I'll shout."

"What sort of date are you?" Rose asked the Doctor as the two of us stalked off towards the shop, leaving him to scramble to catch up. As we walked, I recalled some of the madder moments of our travels and shared the stories with Rose, marvelling at how easy it was to talk to her. I'd never been able to make friends easily, but with Rose it was like I'd known her forever.

With the chips between us, and the conversation lively and flowing, we had our own mini-celebration of our success.

After all, we only had five billion years until the shops closed.


End file.
